Masked Rider Wizard 3 Final: Ancient White
by BladeofHope1991
Summary: Travis has finally gotten his final form Infinity. With his new form he returns to strike down Vanity. With the fall of Vanity, Wiseman now sets her sights on turning the entire world into Phantoms but in order for her to face Travis she will have to create a brand new and more powerful transformation ring.
1. Travis vs Vanity

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hoping you all enjoy your lovely holiday and as a christmas gift I give you the first chapter of Book 3 Final! This will be a short book only consisting of 13 chapters. Thanks for staying with me all the way through these past two years.

* * *

(Travis Viewpoint)

My body hit the water hard as I began to drift further down into the dark environment. The holes in my body were writhing in pain from the water moving through them. I was losing oxygen quickly and instead of my survival instincts kicking in to try and get out I just stayed still.

"I didn't think I would have the strength to get this far in my life. But I guess I had a pretty good run. I hope that I can continue watching over my friends in the afterlife." I thought to myself. I reached into my pocket as I grabbed the ring that Shawn made. I couldn't even get a good look at that ring. I held the ring in my hand over my chest as I sunk further down into the pond.

I closed my eyes and when I did I felt someone place their hands on my face. I heard a voice that I haven't heard in years.

"Hey baby it's time to wake up." I heard my mother say.

"Oh come on Maria let the boy sleep. He's been through too much." My father said.

I slowly opened my eyes to see myself in an empty white room. I became startled as I quickly got up scared. I then calmed down as I began knowing more of where I was at.

"Where am I?" I asked.

I then looked in front of me as I saw a slender woman with white skin and dark brown hair that extended to her shoulders. She had brown eyes like mine and stood about my height. She had a white church like garb that covered her entire body. Next to her was a man with a freshly shaved face. His jawline was pointed a bit like an end of a triangle with short black hair and brown eyes as well. He stood about an inch higher of the woman he was next too wearing the same garb as her.

"Mom…? Dad….?" I said not noticing I had my hands up in a defensive stance.

Dad came closer to me at a slow pace so he could not trigger me to attack. "Hey son just be calm we aren't going to harm you." He said in his normal slightly pitched voice.

"Baby it's okay. You're safe here." Mom said to me.

I slowly began lowering my guard as my feelings of wanting to cry started taking hold. "How do I know this isn't some Phantom trick Vanity set up for me?" I asked them.

"We can assure you it's not." Dad said to me. He grabbed my hand as my dad's memories flowed into me on how they died. I saw myself in the car with them as they were coming back from picking up a gift of something I had been wanting all year.

"That's my favorite super hero movie trilogy." I said to myself as I looked into the bag. I then saw the two hold hands as Dad stayed focused on the driving.

"Do you think Travis will like his present?" Mom said to Dad.

"I'm sure he would. Spider-Man is his favorite super hero growing up." Dad responded back.

"I've been worried about him being so secluded. Ever since the incident with Mark, Travis just doesn't open up to anyone anymore. He can't even stay in school because he gets picked on or is sent to the principal's office. People just walk over him and he gets abused a lot. I'm worried about what will happen to him going forward." Mom said worried about me.

"He has had a very rough life Maria. He's gotten through it all. Remember God gives his greatest challenges to his strongest warriors." Dad said.

My tears were running down my face as I saw Minotauros running from the side and into the car at the halfway point of the bridge. The car slammed through the cement barricade and into the oncoming traffic on the expressway below. A giant semi-truck wasn't able to hit their brakes in time as they smashed right into the side. The car rolled hitting other cars in its path and I was rolling with everything but without having to deal with any of the pain. Once the car stopped I looked at all of the damage in the vehicle as my parent's faces were hard to make out.

"MOM! DAD!" I screamed as I tried to wake them up only to have my hands go through them.

I then was brought back to the white room as tears ran down my face and I could see my dad holding my hands with his.

Dad had a low frown on his face, "I'm sorry we weren't able to come home son. You're mother and I was doing our best to help make your life better in any way we could." He said with one tear going down his cheek. Mom came and stood next to him.

"Ever since we moved to Bowling Green all we wanted from you was to be happy and you spent those two years in such a severe depression. Your father was going to take you to Cedar Point when we got home because we knew how much you loved that park." Mom said in tears.

"Do you guys know how much I've missed you? There were times where I wish I would die just to see you two again. It was so lonely without you." I said as mom gave me a hug. Me and her both cried together as soon as I hugged her.

"I missed you so much son. We've been looking over you since then. We prayed to God to let us see you grow. Even being dead we wanted to be there for you. We were scared that you wouldn't make it. You don't understand how worried we were." She said breaking down in my arms."

Dad put his hand on her shoulder as he tugged her back.

"Maria. We don't have much time left. We need to send him back." Dad said in a somber tone.

"Send me back?" I said as I broke free from my mother's embrace.

"Yes son. It's not your time to pass on. You still have so much to do." She said to me drying her face.

"You need to go give Vanity her finale son." Dad said with a smile on his face.

"My mana is sealed and part of it is gone. There's no way for me to beat her." I said to them.

Dad reached out for my necklace and yanked it off. He then held the cross necklace in between his fingers. "Son you have infinite potential to what you can do. This past year you have shown that being Wizard. You may have Dragon's mana sealed and gone, but you don't have your own power removed." Dad said to me. He then closed his fist around the cross and then spun his hand around as he opened his fist to show me a new transformation ring. The ring was a giant diamond with a silver faceguard and a different base of the ring then what my others looked like.

I reached out and grabbed it. When I did I could feel my mana overwhelming my entire body. But this mana didn't feel like Dragon's, and I realized it was my own. When I looked up to see my parents I saw them beginning to fade into glitters of light into the ring.

"We will no longer be on the sidelines watching you struggle anymore…" Dad said.

"…Instead we will be with you in every fight from here on out…." Mom said.

Then the two spoke together, "When you can't stand anymore, we will become your final hope!" The two then vanished into the ring as it took an extremely brilliant and radiant color.

I then heard the conversation between Karina and Vanity as I looked to my left to see her with a blade at Karina's throat. Karina reached out for the blade as I saw blood streaming down her hand.

"It's time I end your reign of fear." I said with conviction in my voice.

I was then taken back to the water as my wounds began rapidly healing and I thrashed around in the pain. When the pain stopped I felt my skin to know my wounds had completely been healed. Without a second thought I slid the new spell ring Shawn made onto my finger, "Here goes nothing." I thought.

 **"** **Alakazam! Please!**

My entire body became one with the water as I began moving through the pond and came out forming a water like twister around Karina to protect her. I then stepped out shooting a ball of water at Vanity to get her to back off. I held my cross necklace in between my fingers just like my father did.

""You say you're not going to die huh? Want to make a bet on that?" I said to her.

"How the hell did you survive? What's more important is how are you able to cast that strong spell without access to your mana?!" She said shocked.

"Oh Dragon's mana is still sealed. What you just got a taste of is my OWN power." I responded back.

"There is no possible way that a human can create their own mana! Unless…." Vanity said as she stopped to look directly at Karina. "You did something! I'll kill you!" Vanity said as she shot out a bunch of feathers towards us. I grabbed a rock and in a very quick succession used the rock to bat each and every one of her feathers down onto the ground.

I then returned to my original stance of holding my necklace at her, "This magician has one more magic trick up his sleeve. Watch closely now." I said. I then closed my necklace into my fist as I turned my hand around and opened up my fingers to show Vanity my new transformation ring.

"How did you form your own spell ring?!" She said confused.

I then slid on another ring getting ready to end it all, "I'm not obligated to tell you anything." I said to her.

 **"** **Driver on, please."**

"There is no way that you were able to get your mana back! Even if you could unseal it, the amount I took would make you less powerful than you were before." Vanity said scared.

I slid my new transformation ring on, "Do you ever shut up?" I said to her.

Vanity then began to fly in the air angry at the tables being turned. She had her sword she was going to use to kill Karina drawn at me as she came flying. . "I'll kill you for good this time! I'll see it to myself!" She threatened. I placed my ring over the singing belt.

 **"** **Sha Ba Doobi Touch to Transform! Sha Ba Doobi Touch to Transform!"**

 **"** **Infinity!"**

Once that belt recognized my ring I was taken into a black area in my mind where I saw a spell circle on a chest. It was a purple spell circle that had begun cracking. I could hear a dragon's roar emitting from the chest. I walked up to the chest as I placed my hands on the spell circle. Once my hands were on the circle the whole thing shattered and a mechanical dragon erupted out of the chest. Dragon flew around in circles as he landed down in front of me.

"Ha Ha Ha! Congratulations boy. You are the first mage ever to break a sealing spell." Dragon said laughing.

"That doesn't mean you are going to cooperate with me huh?" I said looking at him.

"My goals of making you a Phantom still remain. If it was my way I would kill all of your friends and make you despair right now." He said to me.

"Well that's a nice thank you for breaking your seal." I said as I showed him my new ring.

"What's that ring?!" He said surprised.

"Something that is more powerful than All Dragon. Something that is my own." I said to him.

"The only other mage who had a ring like that was Merlin." Dragon said even more shocked.

"You won't be controlling me anymore." I said to him as I placed the ring over my belt.

The black area returned back to the fight. A spell circle appeared around me as Vanity's attack hit it and she wasn't able to fight through it. "What kind of magic is this?!" She said shocked.

My belt kept saying "Infinity" over and over again as I looked at Vanity dead in her eyes, "My own." I said.

 **"** **Infinity, please! Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

A dragon made of diamonds erupted out of my belt and began zooming in circles around me. I raised my hands out to the side as I looked up at the sky.

"TRANSFORM!" I said yelling at the dragon in the sky.

The dragon dove right into my whole body as my brand new form appeared. I lowered my head down as I looked at Vanity with the immense and untapped raw power flowing throughout my body. "I am the final hope." I said facing her.

"I can see that you are forcing my hand Wizard. I will let you know right now that you achieving this form, I will give every inch of my power to kill you. I will make it to where you are going to wish you stayed dead in that water!" Vanity said.

I began slowly walking towards her as I placed the ring over my belt.

 **"** **Infinity!"**

I quickly in one step zoomed behind Vanity as she turned to face me only to have me open palm her chest. I then super sped behind her as I kicked the back of her leg making her lose her balance and then zoomed to the front of her doing a rising kick where she got sent about a few feet into the air. I grabbed her hand as I flung her over me and slammed her onto the ground. I then open palmed her backwards.

Vanity's wings shot out feathers like blades causing me to step back and punch them away. She then stood up as she plucked a feather off and it became a bow. She shot an arrow at me and before it hit me I grabbed it and spun around throwing it back at her. I quickly reached for a spell ring and scanned it.

" **Bind, please."**

I raised my hand up as a silver spell circle appeared in front of it and chains began lashing out towards her. Vanity grabbed two of her feathers as she formed feather like scimitars from them. She started cutting through the chains and I raise up my other hand as it began shooting at her with the same chains.

"You're able to do double spells?!" She said shocked. The chains overwhelmed her as they all wrapped around her from shoulder to feet. I raised my arms as she got lifted into the air and slammed her back into the ground. I raised it again as I turned her body around and slammed her on her back. I then commanded the chains to move circular like as they began ripping her skin. I then proceeded to slam her into the ground again as I cancelled the spell.

She struggled to stand as I scanned another ring.

 **"** **Voice, please"**

I raised my left hand as a white spell circle appeared as a focused sound wave went towards her. I began slowly walking towards her as she writhed in pain from the noise. I then grabbed her by the throat as her body started violently shaking from the sound waves that moved throughout her body. She went to uppercut me but I pushed her back just in time for her to miss. I then raised my foot as the white spell circle appeared around my ankles and when I kicked her, she was sent flying away with the force of the waves. The spell got cancelled once we were at a certain distance from each other.

On her body you could see how my last two spells greatly affected her. She couldn't even flap open her wings and she was breathing heavily.

"You can use double spells with more than just your hands huh?" She said to me.

"How does it feel being overwhelmed Vanity? Because that's exactly how all of us felt the first time we met you. I'm also not done with you yet, there is still more pain you need to endure before I have you begging for death." I said to her as I quickly zoomed behind her. I zoomed behind her and kicked her back legs as I zoomed in front of her and began open palm at her face. I then back fist across her jaw and before she could fall to the ground I raised my foot up and axe kicked her face into the ground. I then raise the foot behind me as she lifted her face and kicked her right in the center. This caused her to get sent flying.

"You've gotten a lot stronger! How did you get this strong in just seconds?!" She said angrily.

"I want you to feel all the pain you've caused me. The people I've lost because of you. The hurt you caused to the people I care about. The emptiness you placed in us when you took DJ from us. You will be the first to witness how far I'm willing to go to protect people from having to go through what all of us had to go through!" I said as I reached out my hand.

"Come! Axecalibur!" I said.

A crystal stream of mana formed out of my belt as a weapon appeared in my hand.

The weapon had a triangle like blade with a yellow and red gem in the middle of it. The blade extended up to a silver rectangle piece where my hand was at so I could use it in Axe Mode. There was another rectangle silver piece on it's side with a small black hand with a gold outline on it. Above that was a standing rectangle piece which was the handle for Sword Mode. The handle had this curved blade that was not only the axe with a red blade, but used as a shield for if my opponents should try to slice at my hands. Attached to the handle at the beginning of the blade was a crystal etch of a dragon with a silver wing underneath the red blade.

"I see you want to dance with the devil." Vanity said to me.

She then stood up as she plucked a feather off of her body and placed it on her chest. The feather began to absorb into her skin and every single wound that was made by me rapidly healed. Her stamina was replenished too. "As long as I have feathers I can greatly replenish and heal myself back fully. Also my stamina and armor on my skin is greatly increased so I can't get damaged like before." She said to me.

"It doesn't matter how much you replenish yourself. You're still going to be dead when this fight is over." I said to her. I went to scan my Infinity Ring again to do a variety of attacks on her but she quickly grabbed her feathers and pulled them off as she threw them up into the air. I quickly grabbed the handle of my blade to use it like a sword so I could swiped at the oncoming attack, but instead of them zooming at me the feathers became different color versions of herself. There was one red, blue, yellow, green, and a purple version of herself.

"Each of these is strong in their own merit. Each of them can do a variety of spells. You think one of me was hard let's see how you handle all six of us." Vanity said.

The red vanity had a stream of fire fired at me as the other slammed her feathers onto the ground as ice wrapped around my legs binding me to the ground. The green one created a blast of wind to make the fire stronger as the yellow one caused my body to become heavy with its gravity manipulation. The purple one teleported all over the place around me as it began landing multiple blows into my body. All of their attacks stopped as Vanity emerged through the chaos and began slashing at me with her twin blades. She then kicked me in the chest as I got sent flying backwards until I landed in front of Karina who was almost done fading away.

The pain was a bit overwhelming but I started to stand, "If you want to have multiple versions of you I guess I'll do the same." I said to her. I reached for a ring and scanned it.

 **"** **Copy, please."**

Five more versions of me appeared as they began to fight the different clones. The red Vanity threw her feathers up into the air as giant balls of fire were made. Two of my clones scanned a ring to help protect the others.

 **"** **Very Nice! Blizzard! The Best!"**

The two kneeled to the ground and slammed their hands onto the field as ice began to rapidly form trapping all of the Vanity's including the real one in ice. Another clone scanned a spell ring to control the fireballs in the air.

 **"** **Very Nice! Gravity! The Best!"**

The clone raised it's hand up into the air as a yellow stream hit all of the fireballs and rained them down on the blue and yellow Vanity's causing them to explode.

The purple Vanity began teleporting across the battlefield as it punched the two clones with it's fist leaving a purple spell circle on them. The Vanity clone snapped her fingers as the two exploded. I ran towards that one as it grabbed two of it's feathers that turned into battle axes. I raised my Axecalibur up to block an incoming attack and when our attacks connected the Vanity teleported behind me leaving her weapons in the air to kick me in the back. I stumbled forward as I turned around to slice at her but she teleported behind me. Every slash I tried to make caused her to teleport at the last second. One of my clones grabbed a spell ring as I kept up the little dance. Every time this Vanity vanished and reappeared she would strike me with a sword. The red Vanity joined the fight as I started to get a bit overwhelmed.

 **"** **Excite, please"**

My clone became taller and buffer as it ran and boulder rushed the two away from me. The clone then grabbed the knock down Vanity's as it lifted them up into the air and slammed them into the ground. He then aimed his palms that got planted right into their heads causing them to explode.

Out of nowhere the green Vanity came soaring from the sky with a giant cleaver made out of wind as it ran its blade down the giant clone's back. In the midst of the explosion I scanned my ring.

 **"** **Extend, please."**

I reached my hand through the spell circle as my arm became rubber like and wrapped around the last Vanity clone's throat as it pulled it towards me and stabbed my sword through her chest. I then cancelled my spell as I lifted my blade up and blood shook the sword causing her body to fall off my sword and explode next to me. I then stared at the real Vanity who was trying to break out of the ice trap she was in.

"You look like you're stuck." I said to her.

She opened up her wings as she began firing multiple feathers at me. I reached for another ring and scanned it before the feathers could hit me.

 **"** **Defend, please."**

A giant silver spell circle appeared in front of me and the feathers hit the spell circle as they started going around me. "You're real goal was Karina huh?" I said to Vanity as I raised my other hand and shot out a spell circle behind me that covered Karina in a silver sphere protecting her from all of her attacks.

Two black spell circles appeared next to me as a black fiery stream hit my sides but were held back by my Defend Ring. "Even my strongest fire attack can't hurt you!" Vanity growled.

"You may be exceptionally strong Vanity I'll give you that. But because you didn't get all of DJ's stone implanted into you when you were born you're about as powerful as my All Dragon form. This form of mine is exceptionally stronger than All Dragon." I said to her.

"Do you think you've won Wizard?!" She said as she broke free from the ice. She reached her hand out as the fallen feathers came flying back towards me. I cancelled my Defend Ring as I scanned a new one.

 **"** **Connect, please."**

I stretched my hand out as a silver spell circle appeared as the feathers went inside. I raised my other hand over the other as a silver spell circle appeared above raining down the feathers onto her. She moved in a quick like motion past me as she had a blade raised.

"I'll get more powerful if I absorb you're friend's life force! It's over Travis!" She said.

I slowly turned around to face her, "You think so?" I said.

A pair of hands emerged from the ground grabbing her ankles and prevented her from moving. She was trying her best but couldn't move. The ground started to spread out a bit as she got put knee deep into the ground. "Why can't I move?!" She said. She then knew she was in sword's reach from hitting Karina who was frozen in fear.

She raised her blade and before she swung it down on her my clone that was underground emerged out and took the slash as it vanished in front of their eyes.

"When did you have time to scan your Copy Ring?!" Vanity said shocked.

"When I first used it, I kept the clone underground around Karina in case you should try to go after her." I said as I walked up to her. I reached for the back of her wings and pulled one of them back a bit as I went from sword mode to axe mode of my weapon. I stretched the wing out sideways.

"No! Please!" She said screaming.

I raised the axe up as I slashed downwards at her wing cutting the whole thing off. I had to chop through the wing one more time as the wing became removed. I threw the wing to my side as it began shriveling up and rapidly decaying. "I thought so." I said as Vanity roared in pain.

"MY PRECIOUS WING?!" She screamed. She then flapped her last wing as black blood began pouring out and got out of her bind. I reached for her leg as it was getting farther away from me as I slammed her into the ground with a strong force.

"The source of your power comes from your wings. You can't do anything nor considered much of a threat if you don't have them. This entire time the thing that made you exceptionally strong was also your greatest weakness!" I said as I stomped on her remaining wing. I then put my other foot on her side above where her other wing once was. She screamed more in pain.

"You're a monster!" She screamed back at me. I raised my axe over my head and slammed it into her wing and ran the red blade down until it was removed from her. I tossed the wing to the side as it began decaying and then vanishing.

"Says the victim lying at my feet in agony." I said ready to end this.

I bent down and grabbed Vanity by the throat as the black blood was pouring out everywhere. "I think it's time I ended this." I said to her. I threw her body up into the air as high as I could as I raised the weapon up to me as I took my transformation hand and hovered it under the black hand.

" **Turn On!"**

I then tapped the black hand once.

 **"** **High Touch! Shining Strike! Sparkling! Sparkling!**

I threw my axe up into the air as it began slashing at Vanity in different directions. It slashed at her from the left shoulder across to her right side which caused her to fall sideways. The blade then slashed her from her left side to her right shoulder with the blunt area of the axe impaling her higher into the sky. The Axecalibur then zoomed past and above her as the sword's tip pointed down at her. I took out another ring and scanned it as I attempted this pincer attack.

 **"** **Very Nice! Kick Strike! The Best!"**

I jumped up into the air as silver and crystals formed at me feet as I came in to Rider Kick Vanity. I was soaring through the air going through three giant silver spell circles and right before I impact I said one last thing to her.

"Your finale." I said as her eyes opened further.

My foot hit her right in the chest as she got sent flying further into the air as my silver mana formed around her body as if she was enflamed. She ran through my sword's tip as I landed down onto the ground. I raised my hand up towards my weapon as it ripped right through her. Once my Axecalibur came back into my hand Vanity gave out one final cry as her body began to fall towards the ground. She hit the ground and a giant explosion was made as I kept my back turned to it all.

I slowly slid my new transformation ring off as I reverted back to my human form. "It's finally over." I said breathing in and exhaling. I then ran towards Karina who was almost faded from existence.

"Bro…" She said weakly.

"It's going to be okay. You're coming back home Sis." I said to her. I grabbed her fading arm and placed it over my black hand on my belt.

 **"** **Please, please."**

A massive amount of my orange mana began to embrace her as her fading body started to revert back to its original state. It took a lot of my mana to restore her but when we were done I didn't feel as tired as I normally would after using up a lot of my mana. Karina then looked down at her entire body as tears began running down her face.

"I'm not going to die…" She said surprised.

"No you aren't. You get to keep living on Karina. Come on let's go home." I said as I held my hand out to her with a huge smile on my face.

She had a huge smile on her face as tears ran down her face. She grabbed my hand as she got up off the ground and gave me a hug happy that she could keep being with all of us.

"You don't know how happy I am right now." She said clutching onto my shirt.

"Travis! Karina!" I heard Mark saying from above us as he came flying down towards us.

Once he landed I heard noise behind us as Robin was running towards us.

Robin and Mark came up and hugged me as they were greatly worried about us. They had a lot of questions seeing me in tattered blood stained clothes. After the reunion we all made our way to Robin's car where I explained everything to them about what happened as well as my own new power. Shawn was greatly excited that he could be more of use and when we got home he opened up to me about what he and Robin had talked about at the hospital prior to all of the occurred events.

"I know I might be sounding selfish but I just wanted to be a part of something. I wanted to be more useful than I have been. I'm sorry that I gave up on believing you. It's not right and I'm sorry." Shawn said with his head down.

I placed my hands on his shoulder, "You don't have to apologize. For a brief moment I knew exactly what you were going through. But I'm back so let's focus on moving forward okay…My apprentice?" I said holding my hand out to him. A huge smile was on his face as he grabbed my hands with both of his.

"I will continue to improve and be better. All of us are going to get DJ, Manuela and Maria back. We will beat Makoto, Amber, and Tyler. All of us will be this city's hope!" Shawn said excitedly.

Night time fell quickly as I was sitting in my chair up against my window looking outside. I reached for my wallet on the stand next to me as I pulled out a photo of Manuela. "No matter what it takes I'll bring you back. I'll bring all of you back." I said rubbing my thumb up and down the photo.


	2. Bloody Mary

It was about 3am in the morning when I realized that I hadn't slept at all. I got up and looked at my window as snow began falling onto the ground. "Why is Bowling Green's weather always weird?" I said exhaling. I figured that maybe I should walk around outside since I needed something to do other than standing and staring out at the small wooded area of the countryside.

I walked downstairs as I put on my black coat and a red scarf that was on the coat hanger. I put on my black boots that matched well with my black sport named sweat pants and red long sleeve shirt. I headed out into the cold night as I walked the long street. I walked up to Vanity's house as I stood there and looked at the abandoned and decrepit grey house. I looked over to the left as I saw memories of how DJ sacrificed himself for Mark. The memory normally doesn't come back but lately it has been. I looked down the road to see the dead cornfield where I fought Kamaitachi trying to protect Manuela and Maria. Which made me remember being told Maria had died and Manuela's despair at the loss of her sister.

I walked back to the house and when I came up from the side I saw the tape we put over a window to keep the cold air from blowing in. I then had the memory of Manuela being sent flying to that window with how the cracks were made as well as seeing her become Masked Rider Aqua.

I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked farther down the road. My mind was all over the place. I just wasn't sure how I was going to bring them all back to their original selves. "For someone who is to save people and their hopes I'm doing a pretty good job at failing…" I said degrading myself.

I then felt a magical presence close by me. I snapped my head up as I began looking around at my surroundings. "There is someone with a very high magical power nearby. It feels like it's as high as Phoenix and Medusa, but has a different feel to it." I said staying on my guard.

I then heard a girl chuckle. I quickly turned around as I didn't see anyone. "I could've sworn I heard someone right behind me." I thought. I spun in circles looking in different directions of the dark gloomy road. I then reached in my pocket and scanned a ring.

 **"** **Light, please"**

I casted a huge flash of light as I tried to see who was near me but there wasn't anyone in the lit up area…But the laughter kept getting louder. "Who's there?!" I called out.

"You're kind of cute." I heard a girl with a slightly high pitched voice as I turned around once more to see a girl right behind me. I quickly took a few steps back scared at her appearing behind me.

The girl had long brown hair with teal colored eyes. She wore a white long sleeve shirt with red stripes on the sleeves. She had these pink and green plaid sweatpants and a blue scarf that had both ends hanging down her neck side to side.

"You scared the hell out of me." I said to her. My Light spell dimmed as she kept giggling.

"I didn't know you were a magician. You'll have to tell me how you brightened up this whole street sometime." She said giggling a lot with her closed hand in front of her mouth.

"It's like 24 degrees out here. Are you sure you're going to be okay with just that on?" I asked her.

"Oh you don't need to worry about me. I'm surprised you don't know who I am though. I mean that cave exploration was kind of brutal." She said. My eyes then widened up.

"You're one of the missing victims?!" I said remembering the TV show broadcast of the missing people. "Do you remember you were on a TV show sometime last year?" I asked her.

"Yeah I do. It's funny how that works huh?" She said. "Oh I'm sorry, my name is Mary Swanson. I'm kind of like you, a recluse. I'm very socially awkward towards people so I normally don't socialize." Mary said to me.

"I'm no longer a recluse…whatever that means." I said back to her.

"Normally we don't have a lot of people surrounding us. We keep to ourselves." She said twirling her hair around.

"Well I'm no longer that I have people in my life now. I'm not the same as the person who boarded on that nightmare of a trip." I said to her.

"No I know you still are. I could tell when I first saw you and I can tell even now." Mary said to me.

"Let's change the topic. Why are you out here? It's dangerous to be walking out by yourself here at night." I said to her.

"Says the guy who is walking by himself at almost 4 in the morning." She scoffed.

"I can't sleep. I have a lot on my mind." I said to her.

"Heh is that so? Well it's almost time for me to get some shut eye. If you want I can meet you back at this spot tomorrow night." She said with a smile.

"Don't wait up. I'm normally sleeping through the night. This is just a one in a blue moon kind of thing." I said to her.

She gave a chuckle as she walked past me down the street. When she did I heard a car honking at me and I saw a truck about to hit me but I jumped backwards just barely missing him. "Hey stop gazing off into space in the middle of the road!" The man said out of his window.

"Gazing into space? He didn't know I was talking to some-" I then stopped as I didn't see Mary anywhere around. I looked at the snow to not even see footprints from where she stood but mine were there. There was a clear shift from one set of prints that show I turned around. "What the heck just happened?" I wondered. I turned around and walked back home but I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the girl was still there.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

Almost a week had gone by since Travis had gotten Infinity Style. Robin and I were up at the library. We were on the second floor and everywhere you looked at the one side of the building was rows of books while on the opposite end was a row of computers with only a few shelving units for books. But this area of the library was more focused on studying and being on the computers in case the computer lab was full that was located in a corner of the library's second floor. The spot that connected the two sides had a bunch of tables and cushioned leather chairs for people to sit and enjoy their stay. There was a circling flight of stairs that helped connect the second floor to the first floor and the entrance to the stairs was in the middle of this thing that connects the two ends.

Robin was wanting to look something up about missing people over the course of the past few months. "I'm telling you it's just a Phantom attacking people. Like that Zombie Phantom back in January. If you want my opinion there are Phantoms who are so strong that they don't like playing with others. They don't listen to anyone and are only out for blood. There aren't a lot of them because those rare. The details are pretty vague to me but it was something I was told by a friend growing up. Actually the ones that are dangerous than your normal Phantoms are the ones who have been told in stories and passed down in generations." I said to her.

"Would they still want to cause people to despair? I thought the Phantoms were designed to cause people to despair?" She asked.

"Yeah that's their main objective. But the ones that don't care about that are exceptionally dangerous. I would know because I had to fight one when I became Beast. I fought a Vampire Phantom. The Phantom said something about being created by Merlin and he only made a very small handful of them. You can tell who they are because they each bear a mark on their body of Merlin's Seal. It's on the back of their necks. You'll know it when you see it." I said as the thoughts brought back horrible memories.

I saw a forest in flames as I was watching the person in front of me transform into this horrific beast. I was beaten up pretty bad. The Beast Driver lying right in front of me covered in blood. "Why did you save me…? Why did you do this!? I don't want to be the one that kills you!" I remember saying a few years ago. The Phantom Klarissa became picked me up with ease as she threw me up against a tree. The forest fire was becoming more dangerous and rapidly spreading.

"Your friend is not here anymore. Like this blazing forest she is gone. I will carry out my Master's desires and wipe this world clean of the scourge that is called life. Mark Allen Boger, you will be the first to die." The Phantom said to me in a snarling tone.

"Mark. Mark!" Robin said snapping me out of my flashback.

I looked around to see other people staring at me in the library. A librarian had walked up to me, "Sir is everything okay?" She asked with her hands stretched out in a worried like stance. I then looked at my hands that were shaking violently and a tear had run down my cheek and onto them. The tear splashed on my hands as it was surrounded by others.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine it won't happen again." I said stuttering.

"He's going to be okay. He has PTSD from a tragic past that got brought back." Robin said defending me.

"Okay I trust you Officer Robin. Just try to not let it happen again." She said as she walked away.

"Mark what happened to you?" She asked me.

"I'm sorry I thought I had gotten over it by now." I said not looking at Robin in the eyes.

"Do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?" She asked me.

"It's a story for another time. I'm not emotionally prepared to discuss it right now." I said to her.

"That's okay you don't have to rush yourself to tell me." Robin said rubbing my shoulders. We returned back to continue the investigation into people's disappearing. We had dropped the entire subject about these more advanced Phantoms. Robin had brought another case folder and inside was a bunch of limbs that had been torn from the bodies. In a puddle of blood was just the limbs, "Are these the missing people's limbs?" I asked.

"Yes. The people who go missing are kids. They range anywhere between 15-17 and all of them have been males. What's even more weird is a piece of body is left with the words "Ugly Part" written in blood somewhere in the crime scene." Robin said. She had taken out photo's that were behind the ones of the left behind body parts to show me different pictures of the blood written words either on walls, floors, or the doors to the scene of the murder.

"If it's a Phantom then wouldn't they try to make the person despair?" Robin added.

I picked up the photos looking at the different ones with the word "Ugly Part" in them. "Not if it's a Phantom like Zombie or Crescent." I said. I looked at Robin who had a confused look on her face, "Crescent was the name of the Vampire Phantom, the advanced Phantoms I was telling you about earlier. It was also my first Phantom I fought becoming Beast." I said. She nodded her head as she understood.

"So you think this is one of those types of Phantoms?" Robin asked.

"Zombie had an attack yearly pattern; Crescent had a more different killing pattern. Crescent went after women who had certain vividness to their skin. But each and everyone one of them would make their murder scenes really horrifying. These types of Phantoms require blood as their mana source. Based on what I know from Crescent and Zombie, these Phantoms like having a pattern of what time they attack, and how they attack. I know for now, Zombie liked attacking at night, primarily people who are by themselves, hence her killing Shawn's mother when she was driving down a country road in the middle of the night. What we need to do is go to a few of these crime scenes and see if we can find anything that can lead to how these killings begin. If we know that we might have an upperhand on this thing if it's a Phantom. If not we might have a way of stopping the killer if it's human at all." I said.

"Why don't we get Travis to come along with us? He can use the Small Ring to help us get past people and stay undetected. If someone spots us he can use the Sleep Ring." Robin said.

"Wait a minute. Are you about to do something that you shouldn't be doing?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"Well if this is indeed a special type of Phantom, I think we are going to need you and Travis there. Let's head back to the house and see what we can do." Robin said.

We were getting ready to leave until I saw a piece of paper that looked like a hand written letter in the file, "Hey Robin what's that?" I asked. Robin looked at the paper I was pointing too.

"That's a letter. From Mary Swanson's mother. Mary is one of the missing children from the cave exploration. Since the TV Broadcast that was set up as a trap for us her mother has been overly worried about her daughter. She finally came into the police station asking for us to look for her. But nobody wanted to do it. She kept saying she could hear her daughter in her house telling her the same words over and over again around 3 in the morning and said it sounded like she was crying." Robin explained.

"What were the words that were being said?" I asked.

"I love you mom." Robin said as she folded up the letter.

"That's kind of spooky." I said shuddering.

"What's worse is that the mom can hear her in the house, but can't see her. The voice will stay for a few minutes and then disappear into the night. Whatever it is, her mother is extremely worried. It's why I took up the case to find her but I feel like I already know the answer. I was also thrusted with this case too. I'll tell ya, there are days where being a news reporter instead of a police officer sounds so much fun." She said with a small frown.

"Why don't you leave then? Wasn't your mom going to hook you up with getting a really good reporting job?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah she was and that's still on the table. But I can't do anything for people if I'm just standing in front of a camera. As a police officer I can actually be there and help more. I'm combat trained as well so it makes me feel like I'm actually helping. I want to do reporting and be a journalist, but I'm also wanting to physically be there to help others like you and Travis. I want to be in the action, not far away from it." She said as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Yeah I get what you mean." I said to her.

We started packing up and noticed how dark it was getting out, "We should probably head back. We can do some investigating tomorrow bright and early in the morning." Robin said with a smile on her face.

"Awww I was hoping to sleep in tomorrow." I said pouting. We then began to laugh as we walked down the stairs.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

Nighttime was starting to set in the town as I stood by the front door looking outside. Karina came up to me as she tapped my shoulder, "Hey bro are you doing okay?" She asked.

"Yeah why?" I asked her.

"Well the last few days you've been standing at this spot looking out the window. It's almost like you're waiting on someone." She said to me.

"Oh. I guess I have been I never noticed." I said to her.

For the past few days since I met Mary I've been standing at the door waiting for night time. There was something about Mary that bothered me when I met her on that cold night. During random times at night I would go out to see her as I tried finding more out what happened to the other kids, but somehow she would get me talking about myself. I couldn't help but shake off the feeling that there was something wrong with her. I grabbed my head as I started to get a headache.

"I think I'm going to go to the bathroom and get some pain medicine. My head is really killing me." I said to her. I took a step and the lights in the house began to flicker on and off. Shawn came running out of the hallway and into the living room.

"TRAVIS THE BATHROOM!" He said horrified.

He then turned around as the lights in the hallways began flickering on and off and on them you could see a shadow silhouette of someone with long curvy hair pointing.

Shawn ran up to me as I put him behind me with Karina. "What the hell?!" Karina said.

The lights then stopped flickering as they stayed left on. I could feel the huge amount of fear emanating from Karina and Shawn and to be honest I was a bit scared as well. "I've fought Phantoms and Ghouls which is scary enough but this fear is something entirely different." I thought to myself.

"I was in the bathroom and I opened up the medicine cabinet to grab the toothpaste and when I closed it I saw a woman standing behind me in the reflection. She gave a huge smile and the mirror shattered." He said scared stiff.

The lights then went off all at once as the house became completely dark. Karina made a noise as the lights went out and in the dead silent house you could only hear our breathing and footsteps coming from down the hallway. A whistling noise was being made that started off soft and got louder. Finally the whistling noise became very loud as it was being made in the living room but there was no one in the room that I could see.

"Bro. I sense a Phantom nearby. But it's not like any other Phantom we've ever encountered. It's a lot more sinister feeling." She said.

I looked straight ahead of us as the whistling came to a sudden stop. The house that was once warm became extremely cold as you could see our breaths. "How did it get so cold all of a sudden?" Shawn said with his teeth chattering.

I took my hand and moved it behind me as I grabbed the door handle and turned it. I couldn't tell what was in the house with us but I felt like it was in big room with us. I pushed the door open as the two behind me quickly made their way outside.

Before I had a chance to move out the door with them I saw something zoom across the living room all over the place. I quickly scanned the ring on my finger.

 **"** **Defend, please."**

A spell circle appeared in front of me as I saw a woman attacking it viciously trying to break through it. She had this long black flowing hair with blood streaming from her black filled eyes. She was wearing a black and white one piece night gown with yellow sharp nails. It scared the hell out of me seeing her appear out of nowhere. I kept the barrier up as she violently lashed at it. She broke through it as she grabbed my throat and lifted me up into the air.

"This part of you is ugly. It will have to go!" She said as she started squeezing tighter on my throat. I raised my foot and kicked her in the jaw causing her to drop me as I fell onto the floor. She raised her hand as a ball of blood shot out of it and hit me in the chest. I got sent flying through the door and out onto the pavement as it felt like someone hit me with a bowling ball. Karina and Shawn ran out to me as they helped pick me up.

"Are you okay?!" Shawn asked me. I was trying to breathe from the attack but my throat felt so constricted. I pushed the two away as I looked up to see the girl standing on the front porch. Her hair was moving back and forth and she just stood there looking at me evilly. I finally got to get air flowing back into my body.

"That part of you is ugly." She said screeching as she pointed at my face.

"Well that's not very nice." I said back to her.

"You probably would've looked a lot better if you had despaired in that cave." She screeched.

"Is she one of us that went missing bro?" Karina asked.

"I guess so." I said. I then thought about it as I got a better look at the person's body.

"Are you Mary Swanson?" I asked her.

"That was my human name. I am the Phantom that was bred from her. I am Bloody Mary now." She roared at me. A purple mist began to form around her as her appearance began to change. Her Phantom form was similar to her current form but instead of the hair being on the sides it was in front of her face. The bottom parts of her hair had gone from black to crimson red. For a brief moment I could see her face that was stone white with streams of blood running down it. She was breathing heavily as she took one step forward.

"No matter what happens you guys need to stay together as close as you can. I'll try and end this quickly." I said to them.

 **"** **Driver On, please."**

"I can't play around here. Mary is extremely different than most of the Phantoms I've fought and I can't let her get near my friends." I thought to myself. Over the past few nights I have been meeting Mary Swanson at the same spot and in one of our conversations she said sometime to me.

" _Tell me if you lost all of your friends, what would you do? Would you still be as strong as you are now? Or would you go back to how you used to be?"_

I slid on my new ring as I hit the sides of the belt.

 **"** **Shaba Doobie Touch To Transform!"**

"I don't know what I would become if I lost my friends. But I'm going to do everything I can to not get to that point in my life." I said.

 **"** **Infinity, please!"**

"Transform!" I said as a silver double spell circle appeared around me and a crystal dragon shot out of my belt and began circling me.

"Your eyes…They turned into diamonds?" Mary said in awe.

The spell circle began rising above me as the silver dragon crash down into me revealing my ultimate form. In my left hand was Axecalibur as I held it in sword mode. "I am the final hope." I said to her.

"We'll see if you are or not." Mary said as a red spell circle appeared around her. I took one step as I super sped towards her. The spell circle began shooting out what looked like blood that came out like bullets. I sliced through all of them and when I did the blood would turn into chains that wrapped around my arms and legs. "The hell is this?!" I said trying to move forward but the blood felt like metal chains. Mary then began walking towards me as she placed her hand on my face. Immediately I felt my blood burning as if I was on fire.

"I am the only Phantom that has the ability to use Blood Magic. It's quite draining which is why I kill people and absorb as much of their blood as I can. I can also touch a person and cause their blood to become a weapon inside their skin. Just like all of my other victims, I start by causing the blood in their face to boil which will keep getting hotter until not only the skin melts, but their eyes do too. I then will take their eyeballs for my collection and sever off the part of the body that I find horrendous to have in Master Wiseman's collection. Travis your face is horrendous amongst the rest of your body, but I will cherish those eyes that become like diamonds for the rest of time." She said as my blood started to get a lot hotter.

"So she's a Phantom that I can't touch!? Damn it I made a huge mistake." I thought. I tried to reach for my chain to try and grab a spell but the more I struggled the tighter the blood became. "Tell me, was the past few nights you just trying to gather information about me?" I said to her.

"I haven't seen you at all these past few nights." She said.

I was greatly confused by that but then I felt someone grab one of my rings and flipped the levers on my belt as they placed the ring over it.

 **"** **Light, please."**

A bright light was made causing the Phantom to remove her hand and stumbling back. The blood around me fell to the ground and made its way back to her. I quickly looked around to see who helped me but couldn't see anyone but my two friends.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Mary said as she stumbled backwards.

I took this opportunity to try and get the advantage of the fight as I grabbed another ring and scanned it.

 **"** **Alakazam, please!"**

I lifted my hand up to face towards Mary as gusts of wind began to move around the battlefield. The wind formed around my hand as it took a green color and in the shape of a marble. The small balls of wind began shooting out like bullets as they kept hitting her. Every bullet began pushing her back until she got back into her blood circle that was still on the ground. When she did a wall of blood formed around her that absorbed all of my attacks.

I stopped my attacks as her dome turned into mirrors as she walked inside one and every mirror became an exact replica of her. There stood about six Blood Mary's all that had a spiritual body as they floated off the ground towards me. Each of them had a scalpel in each hand.

"I'll take your precious eyes and use them as replacements for my own." She said to me. Mary rose her hands up as she threw the weapons at me. I made a quick reaction.

 **"** **Defend, please."**

I shot out a spell circle onto the ground in front of me as a wall rose up taking the attacks. Once the knives hit the wall, they began making a beeping sound as they exploded in blood that turned into red streams that came at me. I put my right hand over my left shoulder and sliced at the air as a silver spell circle was made stopping the streams from reaching me. The wall that was protecting me exploded as the six Bloody Mary's made their way to me.

"I can't cast another spell unless I cancel Defend. But that doesn't mean I can't swing my sword at them while behind this barrier." I thought as I started moving across the battlefield. The streams began to stop as I kept my spell active and swung at the first Mary I saw. My blade moved right through it as it began making a cackle sound and exploded causing me to get thrown across the battlefield. My spell ended up canceling itself once I got flown.

"So If I swing at the wrong one, it will explode. If I didn't have Defend I could've gotten seriously hurt plus the two will use their scalpels as a distraction to get close, also if she controls blood magic then if I get any blood on me she might be able to use that to subdue me again. So if she wants to play with knives I know the perfect spell that does the same." I said as I reached and grabbed the spell ring that was used by Dark Wizard.

"I haven't used you since that time with the Dino Rangers. I will use this ring to protect the ones I care about." I said to myself. I flipped the levers on the belt.

 **"** **Lupacchi Magic Touch to Go!"**

 **"** **Amazing! Dark Strike! The Best!"**

A purple spell circle appeared out of my belt as it turned into black swords that were aimed at Mary. "Let's see how you defend yourself against this." I said as the swords endlessly began to soar through the wind in a focused attack at each Bloody Mary. Once a Bloody Mary was hit I commanded the swords to change direction and hit the next one. I hit every Bloody Mary until all of them exploded in unison. I then raised the swords up into the air and had them pointed at the blood spell circle.

"Don't think I can't sense where you're located Mary. You can't hide from me." I said as the arrows multiplied and rained down onto her spell circle. The blood circle quickly became her body as she dashed to the side and out of my spell's attack range.

"How did you know where I was?" She said snearing.

"I couldn't detect which one of the fakes was you because they all gave out the same mana output as the original body. But once I got rid of them I felt your presence and knew you never left your original spot." I said to her.

I then super sped up to her putting my sword into axe mode and slicing at her side as she stumbled forward. I flipped the weapon around as I slashed at her back and then spun around till I was facing her and high kicked her in the jawline. She got flipped backwards as I placed my transformation ring under the black hand.

 **"** **TURN ON!"**

I then took my transformation ring hand and hit the black hand once as I held the weapon in axe mode.

"Finale." I said to her as my axe began to levitate itself into the air and grew four times its size. I ran towards her as I prepared to chop her in half in midair. At the last second I saw the girl who I have been talking to the past few days appear and it felt like time had come to a complete stand still.

"Travis thanks for granting my request. Tell my mother I'm sorry and that I love her." She said with a tear running down her face. I looked at her in the eyes as I responded.

"I hope Heaven treats you well." I said to her.

 **"** **Shining Plasma Strike!"**

Time began to function normally as I ran with my arms in the air controlling my weapon and as the red curved blade came down you could hear Bloody Mary roaring out her final scream.

The blade cleaved through her and her two halve body exploded before it ever hit the ground. My weapon had come back to my hand as I stopped my breathing and moving so my barrier can get brought up to protect me from the blast and in that blast I saw Mary Swanson's ghost waving at me with tears in her eyes as she slowly vanished away.

"You didn't need to be dragged into this kind of hell. I'm going to end all of this so God help me I will. I'm going to end this nightmare no matter what." I said as my friends came running up to me.

I reverted back to my human form as Karina jumped through the air and hugged me scared to death of the whole thing. Shawn hugged me too as you could tell that they were relieved.

"I think that was the most horrifying Phantom yet…Well other than Vanity." Shawn said as they started cheering for my victory.

"Bro how did you use your Light Ring?" Karina asked.

"I wasn't alone in this fight. Mary Swanson was there with me." I responded. The two looked at me confused so I explained.

"Over the last couple of nights I've been meeting Mary Swanson down the road. I've been meeting her ghost that was tied to this world after despairing at the caves. Apparently she and her mother were having a major fight and she ran out of the house despising her mother. She had found out that her "mother" was actually an adoptive parent and had been lied to her entire life about being her child. Mary found out that her mother died giving birth to her and when the father was on his way to pick up his newborn daughter from the hospital, he got into a car crash. At this time the real parents had decided that should anything happen to them they would give their daughter custody to the Swanson Family. Since then Mary has been living with them. When she found out that her birth certificate had a different name and her parent's names were different, she confronted her guardian about it but they thought she was too young to understand and had wanted to wait till she was older. This ended up causing a huge fight the day she died. Mary had told me last night that she visits her adoptive parents on a regular basis crying and trying to tell them that she loves them. She knew that they weren't her original parents but had been in her life since almost day one and had decided that when she got back from the cave exploration, she was going to apologize for her behavior. Her ghost lingers because the Phantom still has control of her body so she couldn't move on until Bloody Mary was destroyed, so she sought me out. Her hope was to finally be released from this hell and to have her parents know that her 14 years of living have been the best thing she has ever had."

Everyone was shocked at the news and as I was explaining it Mark and Robin had shown up and overheard the story. "So I see I missed a chance at getting mana tonight." Mark chuckled as he came walking up to me.

"Haha yeah sorry man. You probably should be glad you weren't here I think all of us almost had a heart attack." I chuckled.

"Based on what it sounds we just had a, oh damn Shawn what was that tv series where two brothers go killing ghosts and stuff?" Mark asked.

"Supernatural?" Shawn responded confused.

"Ah yeah! That's the one! It almost feels like everyone had an episode of Supernatural going on here." Mark said laughing.

"Oh there's an episode on tonight if we get inside we can catch the four hour marathon! I'll get the popcorn!" Shawn said running back into the house.

"I'm already dialing the number for Papa Johns!" Mark said running behind him.

"Heey remember not to put pineapple on the pizza this time!" Karina said chasing them.

"What? More pineapple? Got it!" Mark said jokingly. The three ran into the house together as Robin stayed behind.

"I guess you solved this case finally." She said to me.

"Yeah." I told her.

Robin then began talking to me about specific Phantoms that were more advanced. She explained to me everything she and Mark talked about. "So did you see a spell circle or something on Bloody Mary's neck?" She asked.

"I did for a quick second. Before I brought down the killing blow I saw something on her neck but had thought that it was just part of her Phantom form." I said to her. I gave a quick description of what I saw and then I remembered that the Phantom known as Zombie back in January had the same mark.

"Do you think Vanity had the same mark?" Robin asked.

"No she didn't. She was just a normal Phantom…Well abnormal because of how ridiculously strong she was." I responded back.

"What do you think all of these abnormal Phantoms are? What makes them different from every other one?" She asked me.

"I honestly don't know. But I'm sure someone down the road I'm going to find out." I said.

Robin then talked to me about a case she was working on and the more she told me about it the more I realized that the Bloody Mary Phantom was the killer. I explained how she kept going on about how I had an "ugly part" that was to be removed and how she attacked us in the house. I then asked her another question.

"Do you know where the Swanson Family lives?" I asked.

"Yeah I've been keeping in touch with them the last few days. Why do you ask?"

"I want to let them know about their daughter. Her final request was to let them know she is sorry for the fight they had they day of the cave exploration and as someone who was there when it happened I know the best way to tell them." I said to her.

"I can set up something tomorrow with them, they are really busy right now with work. I'm sure what you have to say would help put them at ease." Robin said to me.

"HEY! YOU GUYS ARE OKAY WITH PINEAPPLE AND MAYO ON YOUR PIZZA RIGHT?!" Mark called out.

"I swear you have an unhealthy obsession with mayo Mark!" I said as Robin and I ran back into the house.


	3. The Torn Family, Mark Vs Phoenix

The next day came as Robin and I went to the house of Mary Swanson's mother. We knocked on the door as Emily Swanson opened the door. She was a white middle aged woman with brown curls. She was a bit chubby with pink fingernails. She was wearing a black sweater that had some abstract designs on it with a light blue capris pants. "Oh hello Officer Robin, did you find out anything about my daughter?" She asked with some fear in her voice. I took one step towards her.

"I'm here to clear some things up with you. Is it okay if we come in?" I asked. Emily had this huge depressed atmosphere around her as she let us in. We walked into a small living room with sofas and couches surrounding the walls and a long brown glass table in the middle of the room with a TV up against the window that faces out to the front yard.

"Last night we encountered your daughter but she wasn't alive. I'm not sure how to say this to help you understand but I—" I was trying to figure out how to tell her but then Emily interrupted me.

"I think I get it." She said holding back tears.

"You do?" I asked back.

"The last month I've been having something in this house wake me up every night. It sounds like my daughter crying. It started one night when I got up to go to the bathroom. I heard steps in my home and as I was walking I heard a door open. The door that was opening was her bedroom. I walked to it scared stiff and as I opened the door I didn't see anyone but there was a photo that she carried with her everywhere she went. I haven't seen that photo for years because of how much she treasured it. It was a photo of her topping in a spelling bee back in fifth grade. I was in the photo with her giving her a hug while she held the trophy in her hands. Someone close to us had taken the photo and gave her a copy. When I picked up the photo I heard the crying in the room. I couldn't properly make out what it was but I heard the words "I Love You Mom." Over and over again. After that the voice would come back and it would tear me up because I just wanted to see my baby girl again…But I knew I never would again." Emily then began bursting into tears as Robin grabbed the tissues on the table and handed them to her.

"Your daughter was killed during the cave exploration, she and a small group of others. I was also one of the victims but I got out before whatever killed her reached me. Me and one other person are the only survivors of that exploration. I didn't get out of that cave unscathed either." I said to her. I stood up as Robin grabbed my hand.

"Travis what are you doing?!" Robin said shocked.

"It's okay Robin. She deserves to know." I said to her as Robin let go of my hand. Emily looked up at me.

"What do I need to know?" Emily asked curious.

"There's an evil force that is terrorizing this town. It's the reason for so many people dying mysteriously. Your daughter was a victim of this and died because of it. But when your daughter died, something more sinister took over and your daughter was stuck in this world as a spirit, unable to move on because of her immense love for you. I'm going to show you something about myself that I want you to keep only to yourself can you do that for me?" I asked. Emily nodded as she was greatly curious what I was going to show her. I placed my hand over my belt.

 **"** **Driver On, please."**

I grabbed a transformation ring from my pocket and flipped the faceguard down and flipped the levers.

"Transform." I said.

 **"** **Shaba Doobie Touch to Transform."**

 **"** **Flame, please. Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!"**

A red spell circle appeared in front of me as it moved through my body showing my base form. Emily screamed as she tried to move back but couldn't go anywhere. She then stopped freaking out as she started collected her thoughts. I then canceled my transformation as I reverted back.

"What the hell did you do?! What was that just now?" She said scared.

"I am Masked Rider Wizard. Me and one other person have the ability to transform to fight against the evil forces known as Phantoms that plague this town. In order to become a Phantom, you first must be what is called a Gate. A Gate is someone who has a lot of mana inside them that is also carrying a Phantom that wants to be free. But the mana they have is strong enough to hold it back but the only time it can be broken free is by giving into their Despair. These Gates have one thing that they hold onto that is more precious to them than anything. If this thing is destroyed they will surely break down and the process of the Phantom will begin. If they can't hold back their Despair then the Gate will die and the Phantom becomes the Gate." I said to her.

"You're telling me that my daughter gave into her Despair and she became a monster?" She asked.

"Yes. Last night we encountered the monster at my home. The Phantom has been killing people in bizarre murders in the town for awhile. Have you heard of murders where the victims have only one body part left in a pool of blood? Those murders were caused by your daughter's Phantom. When I fought the Phantom last night I made a grave mistake and almost died if it wasn't for your daughter's spirit coming to save me. The last few nights I have been talking to your daughter's spirit and she had told me that the only thing she remembered before losing her life was a purple mist that swarmed around the group and a bright light that caused everyone to perceive that the thing they held onto was being destroyed in front of them. In this case, the photo of what was a treasured moment to her. She had told me that she didn't have a lot of friends and didn't need any because you were the only one that mattered in her life. You weren't only her mother, you were the best friend she could have ever asked for." I said and when I finished Emily fell to her knees as she put her hands up to her face and cried for a good while.

"I miss her so much! Me and her had a huge fight when she left. She had found out that I wasn't her real parent nor my husband. She didn't like the fact that we kept that from her. I said some things that I shouldn't have said and I..I…" Her sobs took over making it hard for her to communicate with us. Robin then walked by her side as she tried to comfort her. I walked up to Emily as I kneeled down and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"There is something Mary wanted me to pass of to you." I said to her. Emily lifted her head up.

"What?" She asked with her tear stained face.

"She's sorry for getting upset. She does love for everything you have done for her. When she got on the bus to the exploration she had realized her wrongs and when she was going to come back from the trip she was going to make it up to you. She wanted me to tell you for her. You and your husband has been the best thing for her and she couldn't be more happy to have anyone else in her life." I said.

Emily began drying up her tears as Robin helped her sit back down onto the couch. "You know I'm happy to hear this. It gets a lot of weight off of me. I was so worried about her for the past year and I was so guilt ridden about our fight that I wished I could take it all back. Knowing all of this is the closure I needed. I'm going to get myself back together and move forward. For my daughter." She said drying her tears.

"Is there anything we can get for you miss?" Robin asked.

Emily shook her head, "You have done so much for me already. Young man what is your name?" Emily asked me with her hand outstretched.

I reached for hers, "I'm Travis Edge. I am the boy that will bring the hope back to this town." I said shaking it.

"I'll keep your secret safe. Thank you so much for giving me a chance to heal." She said to me.

We spent another hour with Emily making sure she was going to be okay before we headed out.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

I was getting a jog going on North Main street. Lately in order to get physically stronger I have been taking up an exercise regimen. A lot of it dealt with trying to learn to run faster so I would go from the downtown area of Bowling Green all the way out to the mall that was almost two miles from my starting point. I was about 0.6 miles from my starting point as I saw a cop car parked in front of a house on the corner of Main and Wolfly. The house was a giant three level house and an officer in a black uniform had walked out the front door with a woman who had been crying.

"Please! My son has to be alive! I just saw him yesterday when I went to pick up my daughter from school." She said breaking down in tears. The officer was trying his best to deal with the situation.

"Ma'am I'm sorry we are doing the best we can to figure not just your son but the others who had gone missing. I will talk to the person in charge of the case and let her know. I want to do more for you I really do Selina, but I can't. I know you're struggling just getting by with your daughter but I can't do anything else for you I'm sorry." The officer said as he got into the car and drove off.

The woman named Selina was a 5'11 white skin, chubby arms and stomach, long brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a pair of sweatpants that said PINK in gold on them with a black hoodie with an orange bobcat animal on the front. From the front door I saw a young girl with blonde hair wearing a pink and white striped shirt with black pants standing at the door.

"Mommy, is the officer going to find my brother?" She said looking like she was going to cry. Selina turned around.

"Yes honey they will. Come on let's get back inside." She said as she walked up the stairs and onto the front porch. I quickly walked onto the yard.

"Um hey Selina right?" I asked.

"Yeah that's me?" She asked confused as she turned around.

"I overheard your conversation with the cop, something about your son missing?"

"Yeah my son has been missing for the past year but last night I saw him and I asked him where he has been and he just yelled at me which is something he's never done. He then ran off. Me and his sister have been so worried about him and now it's almost like he doesn't even know who his own mother is." Selina said about to break down.

"I wouldn't mind helping you find him. I know someone who can help look for him and we might do a lot better than the police." I said confidently.

Selina had a huge smile on her face as she invited me into her giant home. Once we got inside the girl named Alexis ran upstairs to go play in her room. I stayed in the living room that had all of these hope and positive quotes placed everywhere around the giant living room. There was a big circular glass table in the middle of the rooms with some expensive looking furniture up against almost every wall and a fire place on the opposite end of the front door. From the door to the fireplace was a giant space that led into the Foyer room, the stairs that go upstairs, and access to the kitchen with a door to the basement. The carpet was forest green and the furniture was brown with beige colored seats. On the fireplace was photos of Selina and her daughter, but there was only one that was placed down and I had thought that was her son.

"Wow this place is really cool." I said looking around.

"Alexis! Stay upstairs for a bit and play in your room honey." She told her daughter from the stairs. She then turned to face me as she sat on the recliner with her hands covering her face. I walked over to the photo that was placed face down.

"Thank you so much for helping me find him. It means a lot to me and my daughter. Nobody wants to help look for him because he treats people like crap. He's pushed a lot of people that once cared about him away so nobody wants to do anything to help." She said to me.

I had a strong feeling that I didn't want to look at the photo but I knew I was going to have to. Selina continued talking about her son, "He is a huge jerk but when it comes to family, he's a huge protector. He's overprotective of us and he does his best to help keep us high in spirits. He's gone out and gotten side jobs to help keep food on our table and he was a good big brother to Alexis." She said as she was holding back her tears.

I reached out for the photo as I picked it up and realized who she was talking about and I then lost every feeling of wanting to help her.

"I just don't know what happened to him down in those caves." She said before breaking down.

I then mumbled under my breath, "Her son is Tyler Cox…Her son is Phoenix…" I quickly put the photo down. I couldn't believe that of all the requests I could've taken it had to be the one of not just the missing kids, but one of those kids being a very powerful Phantom. I didn't know what to say so I ended up asking more questions about her son.

"Tell me, why was your son such a jerk to everyone?" I asked.

"Mostly because people starting hurting this family. His father and I got a divorce when he was 8 years old and since then he started filling the shoes of his father. He taught himself how to fight, how to stand up for himself, and everything needed to help be a great family member for us. But in doing so he was extremely harsh on people because he realized that people can take advantage of others and he wasn't going to have anyone do that to us. So he treated people severe and harsh. He has gone to juvie for assault and theft." Selina said.

"I can understand the assault but why theft?" I responded back.

"There was a month where money was extremely tight. He was too young to get a job so he stole from stores. He would steal food, clothes, laundry supplies, stuff to help us survive until we got better income. He was caught and spent about six months in juvie. Once he got out he heard about the cave exploration and thought it would a good way to find something of value and left to try and find something he could sell. I never saw him afterwards." She said with more tears falling down.

"Okay I will do what I can. You just need to stay strong for me okay? If not anything for your daughter." I said to her as she started calming down.

"My kids are my life. Tyler was my first son I know he's a criminal, I know he's a bad person to everyone, but that's still my son and I don't want to lose him." When she said that my eyes became bigger.

"She's a Gate?! Tyler has to be her hope and if she sees him transform into a Phantom that will cause her despair!" I thought. I quickly made my way out of the house as quickly as I could and when I got out I took out my phone and called Travis.

"Hello this is Travis?" He said.

"Travis we have a problem, I found Tyler Cox's mother Selina and she's a Gate." I said worried.

"Do you know what can cause her to despair?" He asked me.

"All it takes is for her to see Tyler transform into Phoenix and she'll despair instantly. I'm going to try and keep an eye on her for the remainder of the day because she saw her son last night. There's a good chance she will see him again. I'll have Gryphon keep an eye on her." I said to him.

"Okay I'll send Kraken and Garuda to help keep cover outside when I get there. I will have Unicorn keep an eye on her from inside the house." He said as he got off the phone.

It didn't take long for Travis to get here by bike. Once he did we strategized on how we were going to keep tabs on the house. "I'm not entirely sure how we will be able to do this. There is no place for us to hide." I said to him.

"You're absolutely right." He said looking around. "Which is why we are going to hide in plain sight." He said as he took a ring from his pocket.

"How are we going to do that?" I asked.

"Hold onto me." He said as I grabbed him.

 **"** **Small, please."**

A red spell circle appeared over us as it moved down causing us to get smaller. Travis then raised his hand over to Red Garuda. Garuda floated down to the ground causing a huge gust as it landed. "Get on his feet. I'm going to keep an eye on the front door and you will keep an eye on the back of house. If something happens we will know right away." He said as he tapped Garuda's leg as they began to fly off.

Travis got set down on the front porch window, "Wait will this spell cause us to grow bigger in a few hours? Won't it waste a lot of your mana pretty quickly?" I asked him.

"You don't need to worry about that even if we were here like this for 24 hours I'll have enough mana to fight." He said as he tapped Garuda's leg and I was flown around to the back.

Hours had passed as I was just laying down complaining. "Ahhh I should've brought snacks! I'm so hungry. Some hotdogs with mayo mustard ketchup and relish sound soooo good right now." I looked inside the window to see Travis sitting at his window sill chowing on something. "What's he doing over there?" I wondered. I pulled out my binoculars as I looked in them. "Is he eating…Donuts?!" I said shocked. Travis saw me looking at him as he raised his hand with a donut in it and waved at me. He then stood up and rubbed his tummy and pointed at me. I knew he was asking if I was hungry.

I put both of my hands on my stomach and rubbed them. I then put one finger in the air and pointed at my mouth. I was telling him if he had a donut I could have. Travis then had a weird look on his face and had a grin on his face. He quickly finished the donut in his hand as he grabbed what seemed to be like the last donut in the bag. I waved my fingers at him to let him know to give it to me. He then had this wry smile on his face as he opened his mouth.

"No no no! don't do that!" I said trying to motion my hands at him to stop. He then turned to his side as he brought the donut closer to his mouth. I put both of my hands on the glass as I slowly watched him put the donut into his mouth as he began eating it with a huge joyful expression on his face. I fell to my knees. "This is for that stunt I pulled on our last stakeout isn't it." I then looked at Travis who was rubbing his stomach with a happy smile.

Our teasing each other came to a halt as we both saw Selina pick up a phone. We didn't know what she was saying but she seemed greatly concerned. She put the phone down quickly as she looked up at the ceiling. She then grabbed her keys as she ran out the backdoor and to her car. I looked over to see Travis going back to his normal size as he kept an eye on Selina driving down the alley way that her vehicle was parked in. Travis came running over to me as he reverted me back to my original size.

"Garuda and Kraken follow that car we'll catch up to you." He said as they began flying through the sky. He then scanned his ring.

 **"** **Connect, please."**

He reached in his red spell circle as he pulled out his bike and we both got on. "Where is she going at this time of night?" I asked.

"I'm going to guess out in the countryside. I feel a feint Phantom presence out there. Hang tight Mark I'm going to take a detour." He said as he flipped the faceguard on his helmet down and took a different route to the destination.

(Phoenix's Viewpoint)

I was waiting underneath the water tower that stood north of the city. The tower was about a mile out from the city right pass the recreational center. This tower pretty much was out in the countryside and not a lot of cars at this time of night come up and down this road. Making it perfect to ensnare victims primarily Gates. I was in my human form to help make this despair a lot easier. I looked up as I saw a car pull off the road and onto the grass up to the water tower. The bright lights from the car almost blinding me, I saw a woman staring at me from the white minivan. I had my arms crossed leaning up against the metal frame.

The woman was shaking in her vehicle with the look on her face being that of seeing a ghost. I walked towards her vehicle as I opened up the door. "Hey mom." I said to her. The woman named Selina Clark that was my host's mother at one point quickly unbuckled her seatbelt as she got out of the car and hugged me tightly.

"TYLER! Oh my God! You are alive! You're safe and sound! Do you know how much I worried about you?! Come on let's get you home, Alexis is waiting to see her big brother. Don't worry about talking with everything we can do so tomorrow." She said crying on my shoulder. She had this huge relief around her having her son back. The lady wouldn't stop crying tears of joy.

The lady began tugging me towards her car, "Come on I left your room the way it was. I even bought you a $100 dollar card for that online rpg you love so much. It was called Perfect World right? I don't know if it will help you in the game but I have a lot of plans and things I want to make up to you." She said as I finally broke free from her grip. She looked at me with a worried expression. "Tyler…?" She said.

I walked up to the side of the car as I placed my hand on the car. "Hahahahaha. Ah this is going to be fun. You are such a brain dead human. You didn't ever think about once on why I asked you out here in the middle of the evening did you? You know what pisses me off about you humans? The fact that you're such brain dead retards!" I said changing my expression into rage as I clenched my fist and spun around punching the car as it got sent flying farther away from us. Selina had a huge fearful expression.

"Tyle…No who are you?" She said scared stiff.

"You don't understand but soon you will…Because you will be losing your life and living something a lot better." I said as I grabbed her throat and lifted her a few feet up the ground. "Wow even though you have a bit of stomach hanging out you're about as light as a feather to me. Maybe it's because I've gotten a lot stronger." I said with an angry expression. She was fighting back by punching my arms but wasn't making any progress.

"You're not my son!" She said chokingly.

"Oh! What brought that on you dumbass? You're right I'm not your son. You're son kept me locked away for a while. That was until the cave exploration last year. Where he quickly gave into his despair, a lot quicker than the other weaklings that were there who fought back. You want to know why he gave in so quickly? It was all because of you. Because of you I was born. He held some serious hatred to you, the thing that was also his hope." I said as I threw her body down onto the ground. She was coughing a lot as I raised my foot and kicked her a few feet away from me. She was groaning in pain a lot as she had tears coming down her face.

"My son would never treat me like this! Who are you and what have you done to him!?" She said in pain.

"Let me show you." I said as a purple mist began to form around me. Selina's eye widened as she saw my true form.

"This is what happens when someone who is a Gate gives into their despair. When that happens the Gate becomes what's known as a Phantom, and the Gate dies." I said to her.

Selina then widened her eyes more as purple cracks began forming over different parts of her body. "No…My son is dead…" She said defeated.

"Let me tell you something juicy. Your son wanted you to die. Because of your constant nagging and using him to just survive he felt like he was not your son anymore. He was done being used by someone who can't even support herself let alone her own family. Your son saw you more as the people he would beat up and steal from than his own mother. The only reason why he never put his hands on you was because you were a female. Seems like he won't hit a woman, but that doesn't stop him from hurting them in other ways that he didn't even need to touch them. You're lack of parenting and being a decent human being is why he was quick to despair. Now Selina Clark become a Phantom. Give in just like your son did. Why should you keep living knowing that you're the reason why your son died?" I said to her. The moment I said that cracks started forming at a quicker pace.

"I didn't mean to use him…I didn't mean to be the reason of his death…I didn't know that I was causing him so much pain, he never said a thing…Tyler I'm so sorry…" She said as the cracks almost connected with each other. I heard something zooming through the air as silver bullets hit me and caused me to stumble a bit.

"Ring Bearing Mage?! How did you know where to find us?!" I scowled.

Travis and Mark had biked up into the field as the two got off the bike. Travis was holding his gun in his hand. "It's called a stakeout. We kept an eye on Selina thanks to her telling us about possibly being a Gate." Travis said to me.

"You know this is the first time our stakeouts actually got us a Gate." Mark said. Travis nudged him with his shoulder.

"Step away from the Gate Phoenix. Now!" Travis said.

"Do you really want to fight me when all of her cracks have almost connected? She's going to despair at any time right now so fighting me is going to be pointless. But I also don't have plans to let you pass and reach her in time Wizard." I said with a smile.

"Travis I'll clear a path." Mark said walking up sliding his transformation ring on.

"So the weakling wants to fight me? Don't think I won't be holding back like last time Primordial One." I said cracking my neck.

"Mark you can't handle Phoenix." Travis said to him.

"Watch me. I have a score to settle him with from that time he attacked that family and lit their car on fire." He said as he raised his hand up in the air. He then circled his arms as his spell hand passed over his belt.

 **"** **Driver On!"**

"Transform!" Mark said with a determined expression.

He then placed his transformation ring into the belt.

 **"** **Set!"**

 **"** **Open!"**

 **"** **L-I-O-N! LION!"**

A yellow spell circle shot out from his belt as he ran towards me and revealed his transformed state. "Very interesting that the Lion is going to bare his fangs at me, the immortal bird." I chuckled as I ran at him. I lifted my right hand back as I went to punch him in the face but he lowered his entire back as he ducked right under my arm. He then kicked the back of my leg causing me to stumble as he summoned out his sword and slashed me in the back. A giant flame surrounded me causing him to move back as the flames formed my giant sword that I swung at him. Mark jumped and spun sideways as he in midair activated one of his spell rings.

 **"** **Buffa! B-B-Buffa!"**

A gold spell circle appeared over his shoulder as the head of maroon colored like buffalo appeared. Right when Mark landed from his leap he stretched his foot and kicked me in the side of my jaw sending me soaring away from my prey. "Travis! Go now!" Mark said.

Travis dashed across the field and got up to Selina with a ring in his hand. He quickly got up to her as I fired a ball of fire at them. Mark came running up with another ring being inserted into his belt.

 **"** **Falco! F-F-Falco!"**

An orange falcon head appeared on his shoulder as Mark raised the hand that had the falcon on his shoulder in an attempt to punch my fireball. An orange swirl of mana formed around his fist as he hit the fireball and was doing his best to hold it back. Travis quickly raised Selina's hand as he slid the ring on it. He said something to her as she looked up at him.

 **"** **Please, please."**

A red spell circle appeared as Travis jumped into it as quickly as he could. "Great. Well at least I'll be able to kill his friend." I said as I stood up off the ground. Mark was doing his best holding back my fireball as I raised my sword to my side.

"Even if he survives in that underworld, he'll come back to a dead friend covered in blood." I said to Mark.

I jumped up into the air as I pointed my sword at him and right before my blade came to him a giant gust of wind formed around Mark as the ball of fire was lifted off the ground and hit me in the side sending me down into the ground. The flames exploded around me as I began absorbing them into my body.

"I should've thought that a fire using Phantom can't be hurt by his own mana." Mark said.

"You can thank your buddy for all the times he beat me. When I die I just get reborn stronger than last time." I said as I got up off the ground with my giant sword encased in fire. I lunged at Mark as I went to make a giant slice at him but he quickly turned around as he jumped backwards into the air just barely missing me. I then heard a noise from his belt.

 **"** **Falco Mix! F-F-Falco!"**

I looked above as Mark's Dice Saber became wrapped in orange and red mana and as he landed onto the ground he began swiping at me with his sword. He slashed downward from my chest in an X like formation. Once he got down with my left side he spun in a circle as he pulled the trigger on his sword as a bright curve blade emerged from his blade. I quickly put my blade up to keep it from hitting me. The curved blade began pushing me back as Mark followed up with his next attack.

"I normally don't use this because my luck is bad but today I'm feeling good about this." He said as he rolled the wheel on the side of his blade and put his Falco Ring in.

 **"** **4! Falco! Saber Strike!"**

Mark slashed at the air as four falcons came soaring at me ramming straight into the curved blade giving it more power. "You have got to be kidding me!" I said as the attack started to become a bit overbearing.

"I see you're still trying to fight back. Let's see how you handle something stronger." Mark said.

 **"** **Buffa! B-B-Buffa!"**

A gold spell circle appeared over the mantle as the head of a buffalo appeared and Mark spun his dice again.

 **"** **3! Buffa! Saber Strike!"**

Mark slashed at the air again as 3 buffalos came charging towards me and hit the back of the blade. I tried to fight back but the attacks from him shattered my sword in different chunks. I ended up taking a leap back as my sword exploded and amongst the explosion the last buffalo came running towards me. I raised my fist to the back as flames began to surround it and at the right moment I did a haymaker putting my fist into the buffalo's face and dispersing Mark's spell.

"I'm not a huge fan of anyone destroying my Heat Riser." I said enraged.

Two red spell circles appeared over my hands and ankles as I zoomed around the battlefield too quick for Mark to see. He was spinning around trying to find me in the fiery streak I was leaving and when he finally noticed me I had appeared right behind him as I slammed my fist across his face. I then brought my arms to my side and at the same time hit him in his chest as my spell circles emitted a stream of fire that sent Mark flying across the giant field. I then zoomed all over the place as I got close enough to kick him across his jaw and grab his throat as fiery red wings erupted from my back and I jumped up into the air with him. I came soaring down with Mark's back to the ground as I slammed him about three inches in causing a giant noise that echoed throughout the night time countryside.

Mark was coughing a bit from the assault, "You know for someone who is supposed to be insanely powerful, your combo you just did is pretty weak." He said to me.

"What?!" I said as I picked him up and slammed him back into the ground.

"Hey that got rid of the kink in my back." He said jokingly. I then picked him up and slammed him over my shoulder into the ground behind me I then jumped up into the air as my entire body became encased in fire. I summoned out a giant ball of fire in front of me, "Let's see how well you'll be laughing when I hit you with this!" I said as I shot the giant fireball at him. I heard another noise from his belt.

 **"** **Go Chameleo! Ch-Ch-Chameleo!"**

A tongue shot out from his mantle to a nearby tree as he quickly got himself out of harm's way and when he did I came in with another fist into his back causing him collapse on the ground. I grabbed him by the back of his head as I knee'd him in the face and gave him some jabs at the side of his head before kicking him back. He tried to stand up but fell onto the ground. He was completely dazed by the beatings I given him.

I walked up and picked up his sword he had dropped as I began viciously slashing at him and for every hit I made the more I began to yell. I slashed him so hard that he couldn't even move without being hit again. If he fell onto the ground I would grab his armor and position him to stand back up and repeat my relentless attack. When I was done I held my hand up into the air as another ball of fire appeared over my hand and I was successful at slamming the attack right on his head. His entire body became engulfed in flames as sparks started coming off of his transformed body. Right before he fell onto the ground I had a blade of fire emerge from my arms as I sliced across his chest sending him spiraling sideways over the battlefield. Mark tried to get off the ground but when he pushed himself back up he fell back down.

"SAY SOMETHING! COME ON WHERE WAS ALL THAT SMART TALK YOU WERE JUST GIVING ME!? HUH?! WHO'S THE WEAK ONE NOW!?" I roared at him. I picked him up off the ground and punched him again across the face. I then walked over to him as I kicked him in the stomach until he rolled over from the attack.

"I don't understand you humans! You're all pathetic and weak! All of you! But once I kill you I'll be able to prove myself to Medusa and Wiseman that I'm the better Phantom! I'll finally be able to get the respect that I solely deserve! I won't ever be looked down ever again! The only thing that keeps getting in my way is you Mages! For the past year I have been looked down upon and tonight I will bathe myself in your own blood Mark Boger!" I yelled. Mark was curled up in pain trying to get over the beating I gave him and you could hear him moaning in pain.

Mark put his hand up at me, "Agh please stop talking. I don't get paid enough mana to be your therapist." He said. I became more enraged as I went to kick him but I felt something wrap around my foot. I looked down to not see anything but it was tugging at my feet and then began to wrap itself around my body and I couldn't move.

"WHAT'S WRAPPING ITSELF AROUND ME?!" I said pissed off.

The thing that was wrapped around me was the tongue of his Chameleo Ring. I looked at it as a path was made to the trees where the tongue was wrapped around it multiple times and then was connected back at Mark's mantle. "Kind of clever huh? I only took the beatings you were giving me as I tried to buy time to ensnare you in my trap. I planned it down to the very last detail, including where I would land from being slammed into the ground. I thought about the moment I saw that I was getting closer to some trees and since Chameleo has the power of invisibility I focused on my mana to it's tongue and when the right moment was ready I would have the tongue wrap itself around your body so I can finish this fight." Mark said to me.

I did my best to break free from the tongue but the more I fought back the tighter the binding became to the point that I could feel my body making snapping noises. I had gotten to my knees as my arms became broken, my chest was in severe pain, and my legs became dislocated. "How could this happen?!" I said as the pain in my body was so severe.

"Any living thing that becomes enraged can be overwhelmingly strong, but at the same time anger causes people to not think straight. You can't think as effectively if rage is on your mind. That was something I learned a long time ago. Do you honestly think I was cracking jokes at you because I went crazy? No I didn't. I crack jokes to lighten my mood, to keep me level headed. It's a way to help me stay calm in extreme situations that would break people to their core. So do you still think people are weak and pathetic? Because by your logic this weak and pathetic human is going to kill you." Mark said as he stood up off the ground.

He placed his hand over his belt as he pulled out a blue and gold gun. He then reached for his ring holder as he pulled out a new ring I haven't seen before. "A new ring?!" I said to him. He slid off his Chameleo Ring as he slid this one that had a lion's face on it with a blue band. He slid the ring on and stretched his arm out in a line from his body. He then put the ring into his belt.

 **"** **GO! HYPER! HY-HY-HYPER!**

A rocking tune emerged from his belt as his Phantom bathed in a gold sparkling light emerged out of his belt and ran in circles around us and then collided into his body. Mark placed the gun over my head as the bindings vanished but I still couldn't move because of my broken body, "You should know that if you kill me with this attack I'll just revive and be stronger than I was now." I said chuckling.

Mark then brought the Hyper Ring down to his pinky and pulled back on the ring's mouth. He then placed the ring into the holder on his gun.

 **"** **Hyper Magnum Strike!"**

"You're not going to come back once I pull this trigger. My Rider ability allows me to absorb the mana of the monsters I kill. If anything you will die be absorbed into my belt as Chimera's food, then you'll die and be absorbed into Chimera. An endless cycle of being reborn and dying." He said. My eyes began to widen.

He pulled the trigger as Chimera erupted out of his gun and became a ball of bright light energy that shot at me as it began pushing me into a straight forward line across the battlefield. The bright energy became Chimera as it opened it's mouth and put me inside. I was moving all over trying to get out of his mouth. Chimera kept running and then moved it's body upward as it began to run into the night sky and then turned it's body again as we came running back down to the ground. Once Chimera hit the ground a giant flash followed by an explosion was made as I reverted back to my human form. I looked up at Mark who came walking towards me.

"No…I can't let it end like this…I can't lose to a human…Especially a child like you…" I said trying to raise my head.

Mark closed the gates on his belt as it reverted back to a normal belt buckle. He went back to his human form as he had his Dice Saber in his hand. He placed it over my back. "You won't be hurting Travis or my friends ever again." He said as he stabbed the sword in my back and the last thing I saw was my body becoming a yellow spell circle that went inside his belt.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I dove into Selina's Underworld to see that she was in the living room of her house. She seemed to be fidgeting a lot and then I saw Tyler Cox walk into the living room. He stared at his mother before turning around and walking up the stairs. He didn't get all the way up the stairs before he vanished. I could hear the same words over and over again in Selina's Underworld.

"Forgive me…Forgive me…Forgive me…" Selina said as she was on the floor balling her eyes out. I looked at her and then back up the stairs. I quickly ran up the stairs as something was making me want to go up there. I heard a noise coming from the attack as I got to the second floor of the house there was a door to the right of the stairs that slowly opened up. "I have to find the Phantom fast. I can feel it's presence is close but I can't pinpoint where its at." I said as I ran up the stairs into the attic. The attic had beige colored carpeting, fresh white paint on the walls, a queen size mattress at the other end of the room, and a glass circular table in the middle of the room that had a bunch of papers all over it. I walked over to the table as I looked through all of the papers. Every single one of them were bills that had Tyler's name written in blood on it. I kept shuffling through all of the papers until I found a letter that had a message on it. I read the letter, "I hate you." Once I said that the entire room became written in blood with those words and in the massive letters that became stained red I saw one letter that was shining brightly. I reached for it and the moment I picked it up I heard someone laughing behind me. I quickly turned around to see a black human silhouette with bright silver eyes looking at me.

"Are you the Phantom in this Underworld?" I asked as I slid on my Infinity Ring.

"Shapeshifter is my name. I'm a rather peculiar Phantom that was created by Merlin. I was sealed into the Underworld's by Carbuncle or how you mostly know him as Wiseman." He said with a sinister chuckle.

"So you're one of the rare Phantoms like Bloody Mary and Zombie?" I asked.

"Yes I am. If you are still alive after those two then that must mean they have been slain." Shapeshifter said.

"Yes they are." I responded back.

"Ha. Let me tell you something Wizard. This entire house is part of Selina's Underworld. The moment this house is filled with the words that are written in this room she will give birth to me. If you want to stop that then you must beat me. But first you have to find my real body hahaha." Shapeshifter then vanished.

"Oh shit this isn't good." I said as I ran down the stairs. Once I got to the last step I heard a noise from behind me as I looked behind to see Selina and her son Tyler arguing.

"Tyler you need to stop stealing from stores! You're going to get into trouble." She said to him.

"Yeah and what am I supposed to do?! You make only enough money to pay the rent on this place and keep this house over our heads! I'm not letting us starve especially my little sister! I can't get jobs because I'm too young!" He yelled back at her.

"You can't go and do illegal things! You'll end up in jail and I don't want to see you go through that!" She said back at him.

"THEN WHAT ARE GOING TO DO TO EAT?! YOU'RE MY MOTHER YOU'RE SUPPSOED TO BE PROVIDING!" Tyler roared. The two then vanished as the words "I hate you" surrounded the walls to the attic.

"This isn't good at all." I said as I started opening up doors looking for the Phantom. I opened a door that led to the bathroom that was super small and I saw a little blonde hair girl with blue eyes in the corner scared out of her wits and crying. She was looking at something as I turned to see Tyler and Selina at their fights again.

"You need to be glad that the man you just put into the hospital was a wanted criminal! You broke his arms Tyler! Do you understand what you did?!" Selina said yelling at him.

"That man threatened you mom! You know for fucking sure that if anyone has or tries to hurt you, they are better off not breathing! We allow too many corrupt people into our lives and you're okay with having them near us! All these people do is just use and manipulate us! We already have nothing what more can these maggots want from us?! If anyone is to hurt this family I will make them wish they kept walking while they still have legs!" Tyler said.

"What you're doing Tyler is for the police to handle! You just turned 17 Tyler! You can face not just juvie for assault but you'll be there for awhile if you don't watch your temper! I don't understand why you can't understand that your still young! One mistake and you will regret it for the rest of your life!" Selina said pissed.

"Mom sometimes I wonder if you ever give a shit about me and Alexis! I really do!" Tyler said as he shoulder rushed his mother.

"Where do you think you're going?!" She said back at him.

"Out. Away from you. Before I do something that I'm going to regret." Tyler said as he stormed out the house.

The words began covering the entire bathroom as the people disappeared. I closed my eyes as I tried to trace where the Phantom could be, "This is getting out of hand. This Underworld isn't like any of the others. I need to find out where the Phantom is hiding." I thought as I was not successful in my search. "Shit! Almost every room in the house has the same feeling of the Phantom. Not a single one of them is stronger than the other. Based on what's going on if I enter the wrong room I end up seeing a memory that is destroying Selina's Underworld." I said trying to figure out where to go next.

I walked into the middle of the floor as I turned around looking at two other doors. Both brown wooden doors were closed as I went to the one in a corner and opened it. Inside was a bedroom that had a king size fancy mattress and a wide dresser in the corner with a giant mirror. "There's nothing here either." I then turned around to see Selina entering the room in a major depressed state. She was on the phone with someone.

"Tyler when you get this please just call me back. I'm sorry for arguing with you. I just don't want you to waste your life. We can make things better. I got a job offer today and they are going to pay me really well. I know we fought a couple of days ago but I'm so worried about you and I just want to see you again…" She said. Selina hung up the phone as she put her hands over her face and began sobbing deeply.

"I can't keep watching this…" I said to myself.

The words filled the room as I ran outside of it and looked at the last door. "The only other area of this house is downstairs. The Phantom has to be in this room." I said as I reached out and grabbed the door handle. I opened up the door and when I did I saw a black room inside. I felt a huge sense of fear wrap around me.

"You're in here aren't you?" I said standing still in the dark room.

I heard something move past me and I stood perfectly still. Then I saw eyes like the silver moonlight appear in front of me. "You're absolutely right." Shapeshifter said as he grabbed me by the throat and threw me out the room. Once he did, the entire black room became lit up as the blackness took on the form of mist and then gathered in front of me as it took the shape of a person. The person was Selina with silver eyes as she held two small serrated blades that curved back. The serrated blades were on the front of the blade and the length of the weapon was about six inches. The handles had hand guards with spikes down them with the color of the blade being black.

I tried to stand up but when I got to a certain height the Phantom kicked me down the stairs. I rolled into the living room with blood rolling down my mouth. I watched as Shapeshifter came walking down the stairs with the blades raised up at me.

"This house, no, this Underworld is almost ready to be destroyed. Selina's entire life will be changed and I will finally be reborn. Her ties to her son being alive is what kept her going this entire time. She is such a frail and weak woman without her kids. When I have taken her body as my own I will make sure that her 10 year old daughter joins us. Being trapped in this Underworld has shown me what keeps her daughter going, and all it takes is for me, looking like her mother, is to transform into my Phantom form. The loss of who she greatly loves would shatter anyone into despair. Hahahahaaa!" Shapeshifter said laughing maniacally.

"Don't think I will let you have your way! Transfo—" I went to flip the levers but felt something wrap around my body. "I…Can't…Move!" I said as I was flown back and pinned to the wall.

"Oh I forgot to tell you something. I have control over this domain. If that's something you haven't figured yet. I'm sorry Ring Bearing Magician. This is one Underworld fight you can't win." Shapeshifter said as it licked it's lips and raised one of the blades next to my throat. "Just one little slice and the might Wizard will have fallen." It said talking to me. I felt the slit on my neck and before the blade was to go further in, someone came up and threw a punch across the back of the Phantom's head.

"Stay the hell away from my mother!" A familiar voice said. Upon impact I was dropped to the floor and then felt the person grab my hair and lift me up off the ground. "Get up beaner! You got work to do." Tyler said pissed.

"How the hell did you get into this Underworld?!" Shapeshifter said shocked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Tyler said as he looked at his mother who was despairing in the living room. "Even in death you cause me so much hell." Tyler said.

 **"** **Driver On, please."**

"Tyler. If the words from upstairs reach down here you're mom is going to end up just like you at those caves. Your sister will then follow next. The only way to stop that is by killing this thing." I said to him.

"Okay let's do this border crosser." Tyler said.

"Umm why the racist names?" I asked him.

"Just shut up and fight." Tyler said as he grabbed the chair and threw it at the fake Selina. I quickly transformed.

 **"** **Infinity! Please! Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

Spell circles appeared around me as it began rising up revealing my final form. I had the Axecalibur in my hand, " I am the final hope." I said as I ran towards the two. Shapeshifter came down with his swords as I super sped up and took the attack and Tyler ran around me kicking the monster and then stepping in close to punch it across the jaw. I ran up and slashed at Shapeshifter who was just recovering from Tyler's punch. Tyler then grabbed Shapeshifter's wrist and stretched the arm out as he made a fist and punched at it's elbow making a huge snapping noise before he back fisted the Phantom into the mouth. I then did a rising cut slicing at Shapeshifter's chest. Tyler then spun in a tight circle as he grabbed the Phantom by it's throat and threw it at me.

I then held my Axecalibur from sword position to axe. I then slammed the red curved blade into Shapeshifter's shoulder as I pinned it into the ground. "You're quite weak aren't you?" I said to him.

"That's only because you guys have the upperhand." Shapeshifter said to me. Shapeshifter then began chuckling as the words had gotten down to the living room and I could see the Underworld finally falling to pieces. Tyler ran past me as he stood in front of his mother with her head down to the ground.

"Mom! Please! I don't want you to become like me! I don't hate you! Yes you did things that pissed me the hell off but at the end of the day you were still my mother! You gave me life and we've been through a lot of hard times. But that doesn't have to end here! Please you need to get up!" Tyler said with tears running down his face.

"I can't…I want to but I can't…Tyler's dead because of me. If I had not been so rough on him he would still be alive. I'm a terrible mother…" She said as the words now surrounded us.

"Mom you're not terrible! You were right this entire time! I should've have done the things I did. It was my fault and I tried to justify my reasons. I learned my lessons and I know that now. You were trying to protect me and I just couldn't see it. I'm a terrible son for not listening to you but I'm here to help you from dying. You need to fight back mom! If not for me then for the only child you have left: Alexis. Get up and fight mom!" Tyler said.

"HAHAHAHA This is glorious to watch. Any effect that boy has in this Underworld will not be enough to save his mother. You all failed! AHAHAHAHA!" The Phantom said ecstatic.

"You're despicable." I said as I got my weapon out of his shoulder.

I took my ring and placed it on the opposite side of the black hand on the Axecalibur.

" **TURN ON!"**

"I will not let it all end like this. You played very well for a fake I'll give you that. But it all ends here." I said as I slid a new spell ring on and scanned it over my belt.

"I am the real Phantom. I don't know what you're talking about." Shapeshifter said worried.

 **"** **Extend, please."**

A red spell circle appeared from the axe side down to the blade's tip. I then high fived the black hand on the weapon.

 **"** **High Touch!**

 **Shining Plasma Strike!**

 **Sparkle! Sparkle!**

 **Sparkle Sparkle!"**

The sword's blade became like a whip as I picked up the Phantom and kicked it backwards. I then had my blade move like a whip and slash across cutting the Phantom in half as the blade then went to different parts of the room impaling a bunch of other black silhouettes that were standing in a circle of us until it got to one that had a much more bulkier body. I lifted the blade weapon up causing the Phantom to get hoisted up into the and then retracted the blade back to me where the Phantom was staring at me.

"That explains why I felt something pinning me to the wall. You can't just change your image, you're also able to create duplications of yourself and have them maintain an invisible form. Which is why I couldn't sense you properly in the house since they all give out the same mana output, that's kind of clever." I said.

"I am a Phantom that was originally a shapeshifter, but my master infused me with powers from other Phantoms and made what is called a Hybrid. That is my true name." Hybrid said.

I then kicked the monster back freeing my blade as I swung the sword around my head and the blade went into a whip again but this time it was wrapped in silver mana that made the whip blade bigger as I sliced through Hybrid in half from shoulder to waist and once I did the Underworld stopped becoming worse. Selina's Underworld counterpart finally looked up to see Tyler kneeled in front of her.

"Son….You're here…?" She said as her tears dried up.

Tyler wrapped his hands around his mother as began crying. He then looked up at me, "Thank you so much for this. I can finally rest in peace." Tyler said as he slowly began fading.

I saw him have this genuine smile as he kissed his mother on her forehead and finally vanished. A red spell circle appeared next to me as I walked through it and emerged back into the real world. I turned around to see the cracks disappearing from Selina's body as she had stopped crying and passed out from the stress and pain. I looked around to see Mark limping towards me with a huge smile on his face.

"Ah I see that you were successful!" Mark chuckled. "I was actually afraid I was going to have to come in and save your ass again." He said laughing. I was staring at Selina as my brain began processing all of the information of what just happened. I then looked at Mark.

"I don't know how much more people have to keep suffering at the hands of the Phantoms." I said to him.

"Wait. What?" Mark said.

"I'll tell you guys about it later. I'm tired. I'm going to get Selina back home and make sure she's going to be okay. I'll meet you back at the house." I said to him as I transformed into Hurricane Dragon and took Selina home. My entire time on the way back I was thinking about how and what I could do to make all of this end. I didn't want people to keep having to suffer at the hands of the Phantoms anymore.


	4. Overcoming the Past, Snake vs Dragon

Author's Note: I do greatly apologize, I had uploaded this chapter and had gotten a bunch of weird texts all over my story. I found out that my microsoft word document I'm using to write out Book 3 is corrupted so I have to try and type out the entire book on a different document. I got it fixed now so we should be good. Also I haven't been able to upload Power Rangers Dino Thunder or Wizard due to lack of time. My job has promoted me to a managerial position and usually during my 30 minute breaks I start writing. But since my promotion I don't even get breaks with how stressful my job is as well as lack of staff. But please enjoy this chapter and I will be working hard on getting this book done. My good friend Herio907 is wanting to write his Masked Rider Fourze story but needs to wait until I get done with Wizard since the events in Fourze will take place after Wizard. This book is only going to be 13 chapters total Thanks for supporting me through all of this and enjoy Chapter 4

* * *

(Medusa's Viewpoint)

I had awaken from sleeping as I felt something wrong. I quickly exited the house I was in as I looked in the direction that focused on the outside area of the town. "Phoenix was beaten…?" I said under my breath. I then quickly transformed as I slipped into a crack and traveled to Master Wiseman's cave. Once inside I walked up to the room where there was a bed with the white curtains covering it all around. I could see a figure standing through the curtains as I bowed down.

"You felt it too Medusa?" Wiseman said to me.

"Yes Master. I don't know how he was beaten either. His magic causes him to get revived. You don't think it was the Mages do you?" I asked worried.

"I know exactly who did this. It was the Primordial Mage: Beast. Medusa I have a mission for you. You are going to kill Mark Boger. I believe someone as intelligent as you will figure out how to handle this situation correct?" Wiseman asked me.

"I'll send one of my babies to kill him." I said as I stood up.

I then felt something stop me from moving as I turned around and saw Wiseman standing right behind me. "If you fail expect death as your punishment. I still haven't forgotten how you have struck down our comrades. The only reason you're still alive right now is because of how powerful you are. If you were any weaker I would have no need for you. Don't think I won't search through your memories again if you try anything sly." Wiseman said to me.

Fear inside me began to rise. I still remember the pain Wiseman had inflicted on me when Vanity had told Wiseman about my treachery. He didn't recruit me back until Travis had killed Vanity and still to this day I have become more of a chained slave to Wiseman than his General.

"Yes Master I understand." I said back with some trembling in my voice.

Whatever was holding me back from moving was removed as I walked out of the cave and towards the house where Mark lives.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

A few hours had passed since our fight with Hybrid and Phoenix. I had made sure that Selina was going to be okay. She had woken up once I got her home as I explained to her that Tyler had died during the cave exploration as well as what had happened to her. He had been watching over her in his death due to his care for his mother. She had broken down in front of me of how horrible of a mother she had been. The family had been going through a rough time and it had gotten overwhelming for her. During our talk a little white girl with blond hair entered the room wanting to see her mother. The child was Alexis and Selina's last child. When she saw her she had come to a decision that she still had a chance to start over with her only daughter.

Selina thanked me for saving her life as I walked out of the house. I had noticed the time as I biked all the way to the coffee book store to see Rachel. "I know Rachel should be opening the store soon. I really need to talk to her." I said under my breath. It didn't take me long to get to the store as I parked in front of the store. I walked up to the front door looking to see Rachel walking out of sight. I knocked on the door and in just a few seconds she came back walking towards me with a weird expression on her face. She unlocked the door and let me in.

"Travis sweetie what's wrong? You never are up this late at night." Rachel said as I sat at one of the wooden round tables next to the door.

I tried to speak but for some reason I felt weird. Rachel put her hand on my shoulder, "Travis whatever is going on you need to know it's okay to talk to me. Now what's wrong?" She said.

I didn't realize it right away but I had tears running down my face. "I…I just…I just can't keep doing this…" I said holding back from having a break down. "I can't keep seeing people's lives being destroyed anymore. I just want all of this to end." I said as the tears just kept running. Rachel got up and gave me a hug.

"You're going to be okay. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for." Rachel said to me.

"It's just so hard…If I mess up saving someone they die…And I've…I've already watched people die around me…And it hurts! I'm fighting for people that I don't even know. The more I fight the Phantoms and the more I see what kind of destruction they are causing the more twisted I feel. There are times when I wonder if I'm even doing the right thing. This weight on my shoulders is overbearing. I don't even know fully how Mark can handle going through all of this with just a smile on his face." I said breaking down.

"Travis you're young. This isn't a fight that you should be in. But you're in it. You're doing a great thing for people and I know it's hard on you. I can't imagine anyone having it easy." She said to comfort me.

"What terrifies me more than the Phantoms are Maria, DJ and Manuela. I keep telling myself I'm going to bring them back but I don't even know where to begin. I don't know how. I honestly feel like I'm supposed to kill them. If I do that what kind of hope bringer am I? I'm supposed to be saving people's lives not destroying them. Based on what Makoto said there is still a chance that their not dead if the spell can be broken. But I have to fight DJ and my girlfriend. That kind of tears me apart on the inside." I said with my hands buried in my face.

Rachel had two more hours before she opened up shop and decided that for those two hours she would keep me company and help make me feel better. I never really came to her that much about my problems since I found out she knew I was Wizard, but whenever I came to her about any of my problems, she always knew how to pick me right back up. Like DJ, she almost made me feel like I was her own son.

The sun began to rise. I had gotten home about seven in the morning when Grounds for Thought began opening up. I was still a bit shaken up of everything but Rachel had me help her open up and gave me my favorite donuts to take home for free. She had helped me get everything I need off my chest and helped me find my reason to keep fighting and stand back up again. When I got home I walked through the door and just looking at the furniture in the living room was so comforting I about fell asleep walking through the door.

Karina was up watching morning cartoons as she saw me. She saw me take one step in the door and my eyes closed. She and Shawn who had spent the night helped carry me to my room and Karina tucked me into bed. She had fallen asleep next to me as could feel that something was wrong with me since I had not returned home with everyone else. Usually on days where I come home this late, she'll sleep next to me to keep me company. When I wake up it's always somewhat a nice feeling to have to see someone I care about right there.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

I had woken up pretty late into the day. My body was extremely sore from the pain Phoenix had dished out to me and you could see bruises on my arms and chest. I was sleeping in my tent outside as I looked at my digital alarm clock next to me. "Wow it's almost one in the afternoon. I must've really been out of it." I said lifting my body. "Agh. That stings." I said holding my side. I then looked at some of the burns on my skin. "Maybe I should take it easy today." I then got up and walked towards the house. Once I got there I saw Shawn bursting through the door in black sweats and a red Ohio State Buckeyes hoodie.

"I FORGOT ABOUT THE NEW CALL OF DUTY GAME CAME OUT!" He said excited to hell.

He ran right into me knocking me onto the ground. "AHH! Shawn be careful! I'm still wounded from the fight last night." I said to him as my body went back into some searing pain.

"Oh sorry." He apologized.

"What are you so excited about?" I asked.

"The new Call of Duty is up at Walmart! I have just enough money to get it!" Shawn said happily.

"AHHH the new COD is out already?!" I said back.

"YES! I'm heading on my way to get it now! You're a fan?!" Shawn asked hyped.

"Damn straight let's go!" I said excited.

"Oh should we let Travis come with us? I have 3 controllers at home." Shawn asked.

"Travis and Karina went out earlier. I just saw them in the downtown area getting food at Qdoba. They apparently had something they wanted to talk about." Rober said in her police uniform coming out of the house.

"Oh that sucks…Oh Robin can you give us a ride to the Walmart?!" Shawn said begging.

"I'd love too if I wasn't in the Charger today." She said pointing to the new police car the city had bought.

"Wow that has a very sleek design!" I said excited.

"I really want to take a ride in it." Shawn said.

"Yeah that sounds like fu-Wait a minute. You know the only way you'll ride in one of those is if you're going to jail right?" I said stopping myself.

I turned around to see Shawn nowhere around me. Instead he was at Robin's side begging to get arrested. I walked up to him as I grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "PLEASE! Just one trip to the jail! We live just three minutes by car! Pleaaaassseeee!" He said with tears down his face as I dragged him away from house. We didn't get far until I saw someone familiar walking towards us. I let go of my hold of Shawn as he fell to the ground. "Hey what's the big idea?" He asked but I kept silent.

"Amber." I said under my breath.

Shawn finally got up as we saw Amber Wild walking towards us with a huge grin on her face. "Hello boys." She said.

"Come to get revenge for Phoenix's death?" I asked her.

Amber was wearing this purple long flowing dress with all of these white and purple floral designs all over it. She had matching leggings to go with it and her red hair had extended down to her back. "Why would I want to get revenge for a child like him? I personally don't care about Phoenix at all." She said to us.

"Then what do we owe the pleasure for you showing up?" I asked her.

Something was slithering around in the grass next to us but we couldn't see anything. I had felt the presence of the invisible thing and I quickly grabbed Shawn and threw him behind me as I spun around missing the thing that was invisible. Shawn get to the house with Robin and stay there. Whatever you hear don't look back and lock up the place." I said. Even though I couldn't see the creature that was attacking us I could feel it's mana so I knew exactly where it was. "This is entirely new to me. I couldn't feel something like this before." I thought. I quickly grabbed my rings as I got ready to transform. I then felt another presence surrounding us. I looked around me as something bit my leg and my right arm. The invisible creatures became visible as they were snakes. I then heard Shawn scream in pain as he was close to the house as the snakes bit both of his legs.

I then started feeling my arm and leg get really heavy as they started turning to stone. Robin came running out of the house as she saw Shawn fall. "ROBIN STAY INSIDE THE HOUSE!" I screamed at her but as she grabbed Shawn a snake bit her in the shoulder as she fell to the ground in pain. Her body began turning into stone. Amber then walked up to us.

"Hey before you guys become statues why don't you tell me where Travis and Karina are? I don't sense their presence in the house." She asked with a cheeky smile.

"Like I'll tell you anything." I said to her as my body began to get heavy.

"That's too bad." She said.

"Why are you doing this?!" Shawn called out still in pain.

"Why? Because I want Travis for myself. Oops I'm sorry, I don't want Travis. I want the monster that now lives inside of him. That's what all this was about. Dating Travis and then having him find out his beloved was a Phantom. I thought that would make him despair instantly. But that wasn't what he held onto, it wasn't his hope. His hope is all of you guys. Why do you think he went into All Dragon every time Vanity showed her ugly little face? Because if he didn't go into his most powerful form he would lose all of you. He'd sell his soul to the devil probably if it meant keeping you all safe. Vanity was the one to tell me that long ago. That's why when Phoenix and I swore to help you fight Vanity we put on a good show so I can brainwash him. But the only one to go was the girl Manuela." She said stroking my face.

"So this entire time you wanted the Phantom that lies inside his belt?!" I said back in anger.

"Heh yeah. Travis is just a weak and fragile person. He is put into the category of being easily used and manipulated. How could I say no to something like that? It'd be a crime not to take advantage over someone so broken and lost. But Dragon on the other hand, he is stronger than Travis. More ferocious and powerful and I see that every time Travis goes All Dragon. That's who I actually am in love with. Plus all it takes is to have you guys out of the way." She said to us.

We heard an engine being revved loudly as Travis came zooming down the street. He turned his bike sideways as he came to a stop and flipped the faceguard on his helmet up so he could get a look at Amber. Karina was with him as Travis got off the bike. "Karina stay away from this battlefield. I don't want you to get hurt too." Travis said to her.

I tried to warn him about Amber's plan but as soon as I lifted my head my body had fully turned to stone.

(Medusa's Viewpoint)

I watched as Travis stood there looking at me with some anger in his eyes. "If you want you're friends brought back you'll have to kill me. Only then will my spell break and they will return to normal." I said to him. Travis grabbed his new transformation ring as his eyes changed to something like diamonds. "Oh that's really pretty. Makes me want you even more." I said to him licking my mouth.

Travis's eyes returned to normal, "No. I'm not going to give you the pleasure of fighting me in Infinity Style. In fact, there is someone who wants to have a nice chat with you back when you placed that curse on me last we met." He said to me.

"Aw that's too bad. I was hoping to see what Vanity saw before she was slained." I said with a mocking tone.

" **Driver on, please"**

Travis's black hand buckle transformed into his Wizard Driver as he slid on his red transformation ring and flipped the levers on his belt.

" **Sha Ba Doobi Touch to Transform!"**

"Transform." Travis said.

" **Flame, please. Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!"**

A red spell circle appeared in front of him as he ran threw it with his sword in his hand. I raised my hand out in front of me as my staff appeared in my hand. I raised the staff to block his slash. Once my block was successful I pushed his sword away and shot a purple ball of energy at him. He got hit with the attack as he got pushed back by it. "Let's just see how well he wants to hurt me if I stay in this human form. If anything he won't let any harm come to someone that at least looks human." I thought to myself. I then spun my staff around in circles as I raised it and then connected it to the ground as a purple spell circle appeared and out from it was another energy colored ball that erupted into a giant snake. The snake moved fast as it slithered in a circle around Travis and began constricting him. "It's over Travis! You're not getting out of my snake's grasp so easily!" I said feeling victorious.

The snake then gave out a loud hiss as Travis wiggled his way out of the constriction. He then scanned his transformation ring over his sword.

" **Flame Slash Strike! Fire! Fire! Fire!"**

His sword became encased in fire as he ran up to the snake's head and slashed through its neck with the flaming sword. The magic snake vanished and as Travis hit the ground he sent the flaming blade at me. I dodged to the side as it missed me. He then moved his hands all around as I looked to see his sword slashing my shoulder and it went back to him. He pressed the trigger on his blade as a fiery curve came flying at me. I raised my hand up as the snakes that attacked his friends formed a wall in front of me taking the blow.

"I guess I'm going to have to transform." I thought to myself.

" **Hurricane, please. Air! Air! Air! Air!"**

Travis flew into the wall of snakes destroying them as he had his blade come in for a thrust. I quickly transformed as I dodged to the side. Travis reeled back the sword as he roundhouse kicked me but I swept under his leg. Once I dodged his attack he took his foot he was standing on and jumped sideways into the air as he tried to slash across my face. I took my staff and pushed his sword away. Travis landed on the ground as he scanned his ring over his sword.

" **Hurricane Slash Strike! Air! Air! Air! Air!"**

He did a rising cut as he released another mana curve attack at me as I raised my staff in front of as the attack hit it and began pushing me back. "I see he's become a lot more acrobatic in his fighting. He's even got a few new tricks up his sleeve too. He's grown so much since I first met him. I wonder if I'll even be able to keep manipulating him into not killing me anymore." I thought as the attack pushed me farther from him. I then gathered enough strength to send it flying back to him.

He took his cape and removed it from his transformed state as he threw it in front of himself as a defense. His own attack hit the cape and I watched as his cloth wrapped around the attack and then fly back attaching itself to him. "I see you have a lot of new tricks than you ever did babe." I said.

"Don't ever call me that again." He said peeved.

"Aww why? You don't like me anymore?" I said snickering.

"You've been dead to me ever since you're betrayal." He said.

"If I was, then why did you not give me back to Wiseman last month? You could've let me die but you kept me around and even fought to protect me. Am I really that dead to you? Or is there a side to you that still wants me around?" I said.

I could tell that Travis was getting upset as I started making him think about my words, "You're nothing to me. Once I kill you my friends will go back to normal and you'll be out of my life for good." He said to me.

"If you even have the strength to kill me. But let's continue our little dance." I said to him. He grabbed a ring and slid it on his hand as he scanned it over his belt. I kneeled to the ground as I slammed my hands onto the ground creating two purple spell circles as snakes erupted out of them and came rushing at him.

" **Copy, please."**

A spell circle appeared over his sword as he wielded both of them in an inverted grip. He ran towards my giant snakes and hit the back hand of one his swords and scanned his spell ring into them.

" **Copy Slash Strike!"**

His sword that he copied, he threw into the air as it created about a dozen more that he commanded to attack the first snake. The swords soared over to the first snake close as they repeatedly slashed and stabbed at it. The snake quickly fell but the other one zoomed past Travis as it wrapped it's tail around his legs and made him fall to the ground. The snake then turned around quickly and raised it's neck up as my snake opened it's mouth and plunged at him. But Travis already had a new ring at the ready.

"There's no way I'm going to become your meal." He said.

He had his sword in gun mode as he scanned his ring.

" **Big Shooting Strike!"**

He pulled on the trigger as a bullet flew out and hit a green spell circle causing it to become bigger than my serpent's head and once the bullet made contact my entire snake exploded. Travis then got up off the ground.

"You really don't stay down do you?" I said.

"Not when my friend's lives are on the line." He said back to me. "There is something I'm curious to know. Why have you kept me alive all this time? And don't tell me because you love or want me. What is your intention of keeping me around?" He asked.

"Well don't you just get right to the point. Fine I'll tell you. I'm trying to get you to despair. Ever since I first met you I knew that you were a Gate. It's weird actually. You had already beaten your Phantom and your despair but yet you have become a Gate again when you acquired the Wizard Driver on your waist. I also know what makes you despair thanks to Vanity. I'm actually wondering if you're strong enough to push it back like you did the first time." I said.

"Oh yeah then what makes me despair." He said to me.

"Your friends. That's why I'm turning to the stone. The only friend left for me to turn to stone is Karina. Once that happens you'll end up giving into despair and the real Travis I want by my side will emerge. Don't you see? I never was in love with you; I was in love with your Phantom. But I had thought that if I became the seductive but perfect girlfriend for you and then had you find out that I was your enemy you would despair. It was so easy to persuade you into falling for me considering how broken you were back then. How lost you were, and how damaged you were as a human being." When I said that Travis came rushing at me. I had a snake emerge out of my arm as I grabbed Mark and held him up to defend me. Travis's attack stopped as I chuckled.

He started noticing that my stone statues began cracking a bit and not just on Mark but his other friends as well. "Why are they cracking?!" He said shocked.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. When a person is trapped by my snakes venom that turns them to stone, their body inside will start melting down into mana which is what forms the cracks. When the body becomes mana I can either consume that mana to become stronger, or they become new snakes for me to play with. You know all of those snakes you've been killing in our battle? Those were all once human." I said to him.

"So this entire time you've been stalling out in this fight just so you can turn my friends into snakes?!" Travis said angrily.

"Oh look the moron figured it out." I said chuckling.

" **Bind, please."**

Travis had quickly scanned a ring without me noticing as a few green spell circles appeared around me and a gust of wind and chains soared out and wrapped around me. The two that went for my arm slashed at it as I dropped Mark's statue. Another spell circle appeared in between us as it wrapped around the statue and held it in midair. Travis then walked up to the statue as he grabbed it and gently put on the ground. I was trying to fight back against the chains but the more I fought back the stronger the hold was.

"I'm done playing games with you Medusa. I don't care if I run out of mana I'm going to kill you for what you did and what you have done." Travis said angrily.

"Ooh I'm getting excited. Chaining me up and then handing me threats like that is such a turn on." I said mockingly.

A chain than wrapped around my throat as it began cutting off my oxygen. "Shut up." Travis said. He slid off his ring as he put on a new one. He then raised his hand up as the chains began to lift me up into the air and slam me into the ground. I would then get lifted back up and slammed on my sides. Every single time I hit the ground more pain coursed through my body. I then felt the chains start moving around my body causing my body to get cut up as the chains began moving in rapid succession. My screams must've echoed throughout the countryside as they shortly stopped and Travis lifted his arm up to have the chains lift my body up until I was facing him. The chains then shot into the ground as I became immobilized and unable to move.

You could see my Phantom blood pouring down from the chains, "Agh! I tell ya you can get very creative with harming your enemies. Almost like a Phantom." I said to him with my vision fading in and out.

"If anyone hurts the people I care about, I will gladly give them pain to the point they will beg for death." He said as he flipped the levers on his belt.

" **Connect, please."**

Travis reached into a green spell circle with his right hand as he pulled back and revealed the Drago-Timer in the palm of his hand. "If you're so in love with my Phantom then I think it's best you died by his hands as well. Also don't worry about me going berserk again, we decided to shred you to bits together. Dragon's not all happy with being sealed away again." He said to me.

"Is that so? Hahahaha if you're going to go that far to kill me and save your friends I guess I won't hold back either." I said. I then had a two transformation ring spell appear under me. It was a purple spell circle but all of the runes and symbols on it were written in blood red.

"What spell is that?!" Travis said.

"A forbidden spell." I said back to him.

Travis then grabbed one of his transformation rings and quickly scanned it to transform.

" **Flame…Dragon! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!"**

A red dragon emerged out of his belt as it flew around him and hit him in the back as his neon red color took over his black and green appearance. He then quickly put on the Drago-Timer and started the countdown. While doing this I was having my mana transfer into the forbidden spell circle as I started feeling my life force and mana quickly drop. "Travis! THIS IS HOW FAR I'M WILLING TO GO TO MAKE YOUR PHANTOM MINE! I don't even know if I'll be able to return back to my Phantom or human form anymore after this! Behold the spell that allows me to become a full blown MONSTER! THE LIKES THAT YOU ONLY SEE IN UNDERWORLDS!"

A bright black, white, and purple began violently spinning around me about like a dangerous typhoon and I felt my body begin to change. My form began taking a more giant like appearance. I felt my bones and muscles begin to stretch out. I was laughing as the pain from my body growing began to grow bigger. Then in just seconds of me growing I lost my consciousness.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

The different colored typhoon around Medusa began to subside and when it fully vanished I saw an upgraded and more deadlier looking Phantom. Medusa had a few added on designs to her Phantom form as well as standing about ten feet taller than she was. She had black snakes wrapped around her arms with the face over the back of her hand with red eyes. Her fingers had become white fangs and she had a gold colored snake wrapped around her waist like a belt. The head of the snake with black eyes bit its tail to stay connected to her waist. Medusa's purple scaled head was shifted back as her white face became a bloody red color and had red glowing like eyes. Her hips were thinner than normal and the snake hairs had changed to a black color that freely moved all around unlike her normal ones.

"And here I thought she couldn't get any uglier." I said to myself. I then hit the black thumb on the Timer.

" **Water Dragon!"**

I then had my Water Dragon clone flip the levers as he scanned a spell ring.

" **Alakazam, please!"**

He then grabbed another spell ring and slid it on as he flipped the levers again.

" **Defend, please"**

He had shot out multiple spell circles towards my friends who were in stones as a water barrier formed around them. Medusa began snarling as she rushed at my Water Dragon clone and I quickly hit the thumb again.

" **Hurricane Dragon!"**

A green spell circle appeared next to her as my clone came through it kicking her just in time to stop from attacking my Water Dragon form. The snakes on Medusa's hair opened their mouths as they shot out balls of fire and my Hurricane clone took it's cape and placed it in front of himself as it absorbed the attack. He then threw the cape above Medusa as the fireballs came raining down onto it's owner. I then hit the final form.

" **Land Dragon!"**

The ground below Medusa began to shake as a yellow spell circle appeared and my final clone appeared with a sword in the hand as it began viciously slashing at her before palm striking her in the chest that caused Medusa to get pushed back a bit.

I then felt Dragon getting ready to take over my mind. My view went to black as I saw Dragon appearing in front of me. "Remember your promise to me Dragon." I said to him.

"I'll let you know this will be the only time I share using my power like this with you. I'm only helping you because you broke the seal and freed me. But next time you decide to go into All Dragon know that I will rip everything around you to shreds." Dragon said to me.

"I'm fully aware of the consequences. Now let's go rip Medusa apart." I said.

I was then brought back to the battlefield as I raised the Drago Timer over my chest. "COMBINE!" I called out as I reset the dial a giant spell circle of different colors formed under me. I then scanned the Drago-Timer.

" **ALL DRAGON FORMATION! PLEASE!"**

Each elemental dragon form then violently collided with MY body as i began to get lifted up into the air as my entire body began to transform. My Flame Dragon form now had black wings out my back, a black tail, and yellow dragon claws.

I began flapping my wings as gusts of wind began pushing Medusa back. "Dragon we need to get her away from this area. I don't want my friends getting harmed or our home." I said to him.

"Leave it to me." He said.

My body then took a leap as I flew across the battlefield as my right claws began glowing in a yellow light as I slashed at Medusa. The gold snake's eyes on Medusa's waist flashed as her entire body became encased in stone. Once my claw hit her she was sent flying through the trees. I then carried the fight into the forest. Medusa's gold snake was reverted back to it's original form as she slammed her hands into the ground as multiple snakes came erupting out of the ground attacking in all types of directions. I had to fly high in order to dodge them.

"There's too many snakes! We aren't getting in close with this death trap she has set up!" Dragon said.

"

"Then we burn through them." I said as I took control over my body.

The dragon on my chest spat out a red spell circle as I flew through it being encased in flames. The snakes came straight at me as I spun my body like a drill ripping through each and every one of them. I finally hit Medusa as she placed her hands up to grab me and keep me from going through her. She had more snakes emerge from the ground as they wrapped around my body and restrained me to the ground. The more the snakes burnt up the more that emerged to take over. The fire on my body vanished as I began struggling to break free. "Medusa had bent down as she caressed the side of my face. She then stood up as she raised her arms into the air and I could hear rumbling from below. "That doesn't sound good." I said. I then heard a loud hiss sound as a giant snake emerged from the ground and hovered over me.

"We're going to get eaten alive!" Dragon said angrily.

"No we're not." I said.

"The snake came into to eat me and I used my tail to break through one of the snakes as I slammed it on the ground causing a huge thing of ice to form over me. Once the snake began consuming us and the ice was beginning to melt I shot out fire from the dragon's mouth at the snakes and broke free from my entrapment. I then shattered the ice as I took my claws and began slashing everywhere until I could break free.

I then watched as the snake's remains fell onto the ground. I stayed in the air as I looked down at Medusa. "It's about time we finished this." I said to her.

I floated down to the ground and when I did I saw black spell circles appear all around Medusa as they began to phase through her body. Her body became an actual snake as she began slithering towards me. I reached my hand as my swordgun came flying to my hand. I pulled back the black thumb

" **C'mon Shoot and Shake Hands! C'mon Shoot and Shake Hands"**

"Finale." I said as I scanned the ring on the Drago-Timer.

 **"All Dragon Shooting Strike!"**

At the end of the gun an orb with a variety of different colors began to form and kept growing bigger. I widened my stance and waited until Medusa got closer to me. Medusa had begun slithering on the ground in a rapid pace and once she got to me with her mouth wide opened I pulled on the trigger.

"The orb formed into a giant colorful bullet that left a red stream of light forming into a dragon as it began moving extremely fast through Medusa's monstrous body. The snake collapsed on its side just barely hitting me as a major explosion was made and pieces of the snake's flesh was thrown all over the forest. I stood there as I breathed and realized I was finally had a lot of weight off my shoulders. I then sensed a very small faint presence of mana behind me as I turned around to see Medusa in her human form in ripped clothing and soaked in blood and snake flesh standing in front of me.

"N-n-n-no this…This isn't…Ha-Ha-Happen…in…ing…" She said stumbling and violently shaking.

I slid the gauntlet off my hand as I reverted back to my human form with the swordgun in my hand. "Trust me it is." I said to her. I then put my gun into sword mode as I slowly moved towards her. She began having a panic attack in front of me.

"No! Please! I'm sorry for everything I've done! I can help you fight against my master! Please!" She said moving backwards.

I then stopped as I stood in arm length in front of her. I held my sword up to her throat and then lowered it. "That's right Travis. You won't kill me because I still have my hand wrapped around you. You wouldn't dare hurt a human. Especially one that could seduce you and play around with you better than Manuela can. You know deep down you want every bit of me. You will always fall for me because of my charms." She said to me.

"You're right. I wouldn't harm a human." I said as I thrusted my sword through her heart.

"What…Are…You….Doing…?" She said with a surprised look on her face.

"You may wear human skin, but deep down and on the inside you're a monster. So I won't have to feel bad for killing you. Because I only care about people, not monsters." I said to her as I ripped back my sword out of her chest. I watched as Medusa slowly fell to the ground with blood quickly pouring out of her and then I watched as her body turned to dust as well as all of the flesh that surrounded the forest. I blood shook my blade as I ran back to the house to check and make sure my friends were okay.

"For the first time in my life I felt like I could finally move on from Medusa and as I began running out of the forest, I didn't dare look back.

I had gotten back to the house and when I did I saw Shawn, Robin, and Karina safe but they were standing over someone and I felt my heart drop. Karina was standing crying and Shawn held Mark's statue body in his arms as he was crying at the loss of his friends. The cracks that were forming around his statue had vanished.

"No way…" I said as I began moving towards the group. Robin had her hands over her mouth and Karina came running up to me.

"Travis you gotta save him! There has to be something you can do to save him! Please!" She said as she hit my chest. I grabbed her wrists as she stopped fighting me and began breaking down. She kneeled to the ground as she kept crying louder and louder. I ended up walking past her as I stepped closer to the statue.

"But I beat Medusa…I killed her…Why are you still like this…" I said as the loss became overwhelming.

"He tried to protect us from Medusa's assault. Now he's gone…My best friend is gone!" Shawn said. He then held him closer as he began crying even more.

Tears ran down my face as I felt myself shattering on the inside. "How much more pain do I have to deal with until it's all over…?" I thought to myself.

Karina had walked up behind me with tears still running down her face. "I think we should at least bury him. I think we should give him a proper burial." She said.

"Shawn help me lift him. I want to at least bury him near his tent." I said.

Karina then bent down to help lift him and when she did a flow of orange mana began to engulf her. All of us stepped back and Karina freaked out a bit.

"What's happening?!" Karina said being a bit scared. She couldn't let go of Mark's body and in an instant her orange mana flowed around the statue. Mark's entire stone body began glowing brightly and the more his body was being wrapped up in Karina's mana, the more the stone began turning back into his own skin. It only took a mere twenty seconds before the stone was removed and Mark was back to his basic self. Mark then stood up.

"Okay Medusa! Let's go you crazy bitch! Come on! Let's rumble!" He said as he then took a moment to realize what was going on around him. "Uh guys? Where's Medusa?" He asked confused.

"She's already dead Mark. I killed her." I said to him.

Mark turned around as he looked to see that everyone was okay. "I remember seeing my body turn to stone…I thought I died…I was in a white room with my parents…and Klarissa. I actually felt like I was calm and at peace finally. But as I began to accept the tranquility that I felt they pushed me away. Said something like it wasn't my time yet. When that happened I woke back up here." He said to me.

Karina's glow resided back into her as she fell to the ground and collapsed. I quickly ran by her side as I grabbed her hand with the Please Ring on it and scanned it over my belt.

 **"Please, please."**

"Karina used up a lot of her mana to bring him back to life. She's never been able to cast magic before or perform any like this. So what is going on with her?" I thought to myself. My eyes began growing heavy as I tried to restore the mana that was used. I could tell that she was getting it all back but I was growing extremely tired so I cancelled the spell and tried to carry her back into the house.

"Guys I'm really tired. Let's continue this later and just rest." I said as we all walked back into the house and every single one of us had questions about what had just happened.


	5. The Treacherous Phantom

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I collapsed the moment we walked back into the house. I just wanted to sleep for at least a week. Instead I slept from that afternoon to the middle of the night. I woke up to feel someone next to me and as I opened my eyes I saw Karina. At first I thought it was Manuela and had gotten them mixed up since they both had the same light brown skin. I got up out of the bed without waking Karina up as I slowly and quietly walked out of the room and went outside. I had my jacket on and black sweatpants as it was pretty cold. I sat on the edge of the front porch as I looked out to the countryside. I looked to the left of me at the forest area where I fought Medusa and breathed deeply as I was relieved she was gone.

I saw Mark coming out the forest with a bunch of sticks in his arms. I got up and walked towards the end of the porch where I could see his tent up and a fire pit near it. Mark noticed me as he called out my name.

"Travis! Hey you want to roast some marshmallows?" He called out to me.

"I'll be right there!" I said to him as I strolled out into the yard.

We both finally got to the fire pit as we both sat down and started grabbing marshmallow's out of the bag and placing them on metal skewers.

"Did you just wake up?" Mark asked as the fire began cackling.

"Yeah." I said feeling down.

"What's wrong?" Mark asked concerned.

"What? Nothing, I'm just tired as all. Messed up sleep schedule." I said as an excuse.

"Look since I joined you guys I've noticed when something greatly troubles you. It's in your voice and your facial expression. Is it because I almost died yesterday?" He said.

"No it's jus-." I was immediately cut off.

"Look I'm perfectly fine. I'm alive. I know you were greatly worried about me. You don't have to lie to kick it." Mark said to me. "Now how about you be honest with me with what's really going on with you."

I breathed in deeply and exhaled as I started opening up with him.

"I'm just tired of everything. I'm tired of this whole fight with the Phantoms. There was a time in my life where I didn't care about other people's lives. I didn't care what happened to them. The world and its people treated me like shit growing up. But since I've become Wizard I've seen a different side of things. I've become more aware of the world and the great things that can come from it. Having been Wizard for the past year and saving people's lives has made me cherish not just my life, but the lives of others." I said to him.

"So what really has you down?" Mark replied.

"I feel like I can't take anymore of seeing people suffer from the Phantoms. All of this is just hard on me. Something inside of me about cracked when I came back from killing Medusa and seeing that you had not returned back. It was the same pain I felt when DJ took the blow for you. All of the pain I'm feeling as we keep fighting is just being too much for me to bear. I'm just terrified of losing you guys. More terrified then losing people I don't even know to their despair. My life got better and my world went from black and white to colorful when I found you guys. With all of you by my side I'm able to keep pushing forward. I don't want to lose any of you guys and I feel like I am." I said to him as a tear ran down my face.

Mark patted the back of my shoulder, "Hey man look at me. I'm still here. Not a single one of have died. Plus it seems like when we are going to, something happens to keep us alive. Also this might sound off but I want you to think about it like this. Even if one of us die while fighting the Phantoms you have to stay strong. What good are we mages to the world if we die? You might be afraid to lose us, and if collapse and give in then what about the people we are trying to protect? They will lose their best friends, their families, the people they cherish the most. Once that happens the Phantoms win. We can't let evil be victorious and they know that if they can get rid of us it's a done deal for them. What if the Phantoms know that this is shaking you? They know they struggle beating you so they go after your weaknesses." He said to me.

I looked down at the ground as I processed everything he said. "Yeah you're right. I never thought of it like that. I'm just so concerned at keeping you guys safe and probably have been thinking more about myself than others." I said to him feeling defeated.

"Travis you and I are both young still. We still have some growing up ourselves to how the world works. We are placed in a string of events that is out of our control. But we are in it. As long as we work together and have each other's backs we will see this through." Mark said to me encouragingly.

"Yeah I bet we can." I said to him.

"Great now let's eat I'm starving." Mark said with a smile on his face. He placed three marshmallows on his skewer and hovered them over the fire. I grabbed a couple from the bag and began roasting mine. I looked up to the sky that shine so beautiful. "I'm going to do what I can to get them back." I said.

"The people who have become mages?" Mark said with his mouth full.

"Yeah. I'll find a way to do it and I'm going to end all of this nightmare with the Phantoms." I declared.

Mark had a smile on his face as he looked up to the stars with me, "And I'm going to be right by your side along with everyone else." Mark said as we resumed back to eating and then goofing off for the rest of the night.

 ** _(The Next Day)_**

I had woken up in my bed with Karina already gone. It was close to noon when I got up as I went to the bathroom to freshen up. I put on a red shirt with black long sleeves and my black cargo pants as I ran to the kitchen to make something to eat. I saw Karina at the end of the hall just staring at DJ's work space off in the corner of the living room, "Hey Karina good morning." I said to her. She turned around to look at me.

"Oh morning Bro. How'd you sleep?" She asked me.

"Fine. I'm making pancakes you want some?" I asked her as I approached her.

Karina kept her back to me as I walked up to her and touched her shoulder. She dropped what she was holding in her hands which was a crumbled up piece of paper. She had me worried as I bent down to pick up the paper. "How could this happen..." She said. Before I had chance to say anything I heard a sound on the wooden floor and saw tears falling down onto the ground.

"Karina what's wrong?" I asked her worried as I picked up the paper.

I opened up the crumbled paper as I saw a letter that had gotten to our door somehow. The paper was all in Spanish I looked at Karina worried about her, "My Spanish is terrible what does this say Karina?" I asked her. She couldn't stop crying. "Karina come on just calm down take a few deep breaths and tell me what this letter is." I asked.

Karina began to breathe as she started calming down more. "My parents want to see me and Eduardo..." Karina said.

"Eduardo...Oh that's who I fought as Minotarous! Why are your parent's wanting to see you now? Didn't they abandon you two?" I asked her.

"...Something like that..." Karina said trying to keep it together.

"How did they find you?" I asked her.

"I don't know...I haven't kept in touch with them after they left. It's been so many years since I saw them." She said struggling to speak.

"When do they want to see you?" I asked.

"I guess they are already in town. I don't want to go. I'm just too nervous and scared." She said shivering.

"How about Mark and I go with you? They went through all of this trouble to come see you at least hear them out." I suggested to her.

"I don't know. I mean how do you approach your parents who just abandoned you? They said such terrible things about me it was clear that Eduardo was a better child than I was. I was just a leech." Karina said.

"You're not a leech. You're a human being. Look why don't we just go and see them. If things don't turn out the way they did you can leave. Nobody just goes out of their way to look for somebody unless there is something of importance needing to be discussed." I said to her.

Karina looked down at the floor before she put a smile on her face, "You're right. I should at least try. If I was a mother and sought out my child after all these years I'm pretty sure it would hurt me if they turned me down." Karina said. I could tell that as she had that smile on her face she was still not 100% ready for this.

"Okay so where are we meeting her at?" I asked.

"In an hour at the coffee bookstore." She responded.

"Great this gives us time to make a quick stop somewhere." I said to her.

"A stop? Where at?" She asked curious to what I would say.

"Walmart. I ordered something online and it's getting shipped here. I wanted to thank you for all the help you've given me with Manuela's absence I thought you might like it if I got you something." I said to her. I walked over to the coat hanger by the door and grabbed the two black helmets that were hanging from it. I tossed one at her, "Catch!" I said to her.

She caught the helmet as she looked down at it and then up to me, "What did you get me?" She asked.

"You'll see when we get to the store." I said with a smile on my face.

Karina and I went out and got onto the bike as we began riding down Gypsy Lane to Walmart. I had Karina wait for me at the arcade room in the store next to the entrance as I ran to the Customer Service desk. The blonde haired lady at the desk helped me out as I told her about an order that had came in. She went to the back after verifying my identity and came back out with a bright red long sleeve shirt. Their was a red and green floral design on the sleeves and around the stomach area of shirt was a green stripe and white stripe that wrapped around it. The fabric was really silky and the light would brighten up the dress even more. The lady at the desk gave me a smile on her face.

"The lady is lucky to have that." She said staring at the dress.

"The girl who's receiving this is like family to me." I said to her.

"Well I'm sure she's going to love it." The lady said as I thanked her for her service and turned around to walk away. When I did I felt someone staring at me in the store. "This mana feels likes the one's I felt of the people from the cave exploration." I looked around to try and find someone but every time I looked in the direction where I was sensing the presence, it would quickly move. "There's definitely someone here. But it seems like they are just watching me, and they seem to know that I can sense beings with mana. I should hurry and get out of here before things get crazy." I decided as I quickly moved towards the arcade. When I did there was two people who walked past me. Both had short blonde hair, white, one had freckles on his face and teal colored eye, the other didn't have freckles but had a very mature expression on his ace. The two looked like they were your stereotypical skater boys. The freckled one had a white long sleeve shirt with a black stripes all around his shirt and blue skinny jeans. The other one had a red tank top on with blue jeans that had tears around the kneecaps. The two walked past me with a glare before looking away. I didn't sense any mana from them so I thought maybe they weren't what I was looking for.

Once those two walked out of the store the presence of mana vanished instantly. I heard Karina having fun at the claw machine in the arcade room, "Oh come on! How can you just fall out of the claw like that?! I was so close!" She said as she dropped in more quarters into the machine and tried again. I walked up to her as I handed her the bag that had her dress inside it. "Hold on bro I almost got the pink elephant!" She said as the claw came down and grabbed the elephant and picked it up. "Yes! I got it! Just a few more inches and I'll have it!" She said really excited. The elephant then fell out of the claw again and was on the edge of the ledge to the point that if she just insert two more quarters she could use the claw to knock it down into the Winner's Cube where she could acquire it. But she had used up the last of her money, "Awww and I really wanted that." She said with her smile quickly turning into a frown.

I looked around to see if anyone was watching and placed my hand at the top of the machine and pushed it up causing it to tilt back a bit and when I let go the machine fell back into place but the pink elephant fell into the Winner's Cube. I bent down and reached in as I grabbed the elephant and pulled it out. I tossed the elephant to her, "Here you go sis." I said to her. Karina had a giant smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around it in the form of an X as she had a giant smile on her face.

"Yippeee! Yay! I got Pinky!" She said already naming it.

"Pinky? Really?" I said chuckling.

She was completely ignoring me as she was messing with the trunk and then had it face me as she put the stuffed animal in front of her face and tried to make an elephant noise with it. She did a bad job with it. "Hahahahaha that was so bad!" She said laughing. I laughed with her until she looked at the bag I was holding. "Oh is that the gift?" She asked.

"Yeah why don't you go and try it on. I think you might like it. It's a long sleeve so if you're a bit chilly you can put it on." I said to her.

"Yeah it was a bit colder than I thought it would be." She said as she handed me the elephant. She took out the dress and was greatly amazed at how it looked. "Oh my God this is beautiful! It has Mexico's colors!" She said as she quickly put it on. "Wow it doesn't look like it on the outside but on the inside it's a bit warm." She said as she began spinning around. She ran up to me as she gave me a hug excited for her gift.

"I'm happy you like it sis." I said to her.

"I love it bro." She said as she let go of me and took the elephant back. "I think I'm ready to go see my mom. I wasn't fully on board with the idea but I'm willing to give it a shot. I might not ever get this chance again." She said with more confidence than she did at the house.

"At least you won't be alone you got me, and Rachel's working today so she'll be there too." I said to her. We exited the store and I had us pull to a place where people wouldn't see us.

"What's going on bro?" She asked worried.

"In the store I sensed two powerful people with mana. I think we were being watched by Phantoms. Also there was two people that looked like the ones missing during the cave exploration who just walked past me. I'm going to summon out the Familiars to keep an eye on those two. When they walked past me they had zero mana presence and that's just not normal for any of us who survived that horrible day." I said to her.

I reached into my pocket as I pulled out the Kraken Ring and Garuda Ring.

 **"Kraken, please!"**

 **"Garuda, please!"**

The two began to form in front of me. I placed a finger on their foreheads and I closed my eyes as I began commanding them what to do. "You need to find these two people. They might be up to no good. I need you to find them and come back and tell me where they are at. Stay as far from them as possible they aren't your normal Phantoms that you have had to track down." I said. The Familiars had gotten the image of what they looked like from my memories as they began floating and flying into the sky.

"That's new." Karina said.

"I can't explain it but there was a time I needed them to track something down and I began experimenting with my new powers and that was one of the things I could do. I can transmit an image of what I want them to find and they will receive it and look for it." I said to her.

"You seem to have more powers since you're fight with Vanity. Are you feeling okay with all of these new abilities?" She asked.

"I'm perfectly fine. I do feel like I'm growing as a spellcaster. Actually I couldn't use my abilities unless I was transformed or used my rings. But now I'm starting to use spells without relying on them. They feel kind of unique. I couldn't sense mana before but now I can, and transmitting images to things I touch is pretty new. I'm sure there is alot more I am able to do if I could experiment but I'm not entirely sure what I can do." I responded back.

We began making my way to the bike before I heard a chuckle behind us, "You guys are adorable."

We turned around to see Libby Woodruff, known as Gremlin in her human form standing behind us. She was wearing a black shirt with the words "PINK" on the sleeves and black sweats and white tennis shoes.

"What do you want Gremlin?" I said to her as I put an arm out in front of Karina.

"Oh I'm not here to fight you two...Not yet anyway. I'm here looking for Orthrus and Chupacabra. The final two people from the cave exploration." She said with a smile on her face.

"Having a hard time sensing them? Or is it that you're ability to track just as weak as ever?" I asked her. She made a tch sound as she looked to the side and back at me.

"Orthrus and Chupacabra have both gone rogue without Wiseman's permission. They've gone around killing random people and I'm supposed to stop them myself." She said.

"Let me guess you want us to help you because you know that Karina and I are able to sense Phantoms right?" I asked her.

"You're not as stupid as Medusa made you out to be huh Ring Bearer?" She said with a cocky attitude.

"Will helping you bring back DJ and Manuela?" I asked her knowing her response.

"Umm No?" She said confused.

"Well then I guess I don't have to care about your problems. In fact I wouldn't mind if I didn't have to care about you at all." I said as I slid on my Flame Style Ring. Karina quickly grabbed my arm stopping me.

"Hold on a second bro. If Gremlin can't sense them then we probably can't either. Plus they are killing random people. I think we should work together for the time being to put an end to them." Karina said.

"Yeah _bro._ You should be working with me to take down these threats." She said chuckling.

"I would have considered it if you weren't such a lying sack of crap." I said to her.

"Ha I guess you saw through my bluff." She said. I began walking towards her before she lifted her hand up and I stopped. "I wouldn't be so quick to fight me Wizard. Unless you want your doll's mother to go into instant despair." Gremlin said with her evil smile.

"What?" Karina said.

"We currently have your mother Karina. She has an interesting hope that she holds onto. You know after everything she has done to you who would've thought that her _hope_ would be her own kids. Your mom wears something around her neck that is the reason why she's back in this country. That thing has been her huge motivation to see you and should I not be back within in a certain time frame Orthrus and Chupacabra are to push her into despair and she will give rise to a Phantom. Your mom holds a powerful Phantom inside of her as well." Gremlin said laughing.

"You guys are really terrible creatures you know that right?" I said to her.

"Oh don't try to flatter me Travis. With everything you guys know now I'd suggest you two come with me. I'll take you to your doll's mother but you have to give over your Driver On Ring. I don't want you transforming on me. Oh and if you don't I'll force that little brown dirty hag into despair." She said as she held out her hand to me.

"Great she's put us into a situation where it's going to be hard to get out of. She doesn't seem to be bluffing about having Karina's mother but it's honestly a trap I'm walking into." I thought to myself. I then slid my Driver On Ring off and tossed it to her.

"At least you're obedient. But I guess you should if you have a person's life on the line." She said smiling. She walked up to us and placed her hands on our shoulders as all three of us began turning into a green mist. "Let's go back to where it all began Travis and Karina." Gremlin said with a smile.

I felt my body break apart as I turned into mana. The feeling of being turned into mana didn't feel fun and what was even worse was how fast we moved all over Bowling Green. The speed was incredible as I couldn't even try to remember where we were traveling and in just seconds the feeling nauseous suddenly came to a stop as I tried to stand with the world around me spinning. "..Karina...Are you here?" I said with my eyes close hoping that when I opened them I wouldn't be so dizzy. I felt someone grab my arm.

"Yeah I'm right here." She said.

I slowly opened my eyes to see the world finally going back into place, "Are you okay?" I asked her as she had her eyes closed as well and began opening them up.

"Yeah everything isn't spinning so much now." She said. I looked around to try and find Gremlin.

"Where's Gremlin?" I thought.

"Travis look!" Karina said as she pointed out to the road where we were taken into police cars that rode us back to Bowling Green.

"If that's the road then we aren't far from when I first transformed and fought the Ghouls." I said to her.

"Gremlin said back where it all began right? Does that mean we have to find the entrance to the underground cave again?" Karina said with a bit of fear in her voice.

"I really hope not...But I think it's exactly what she means." I said.

I knew that we were going back to the caves but I wasn't entirely sure if I was up for going back to that terrible place. I reached my hand out to Karina. "It'd be better if we stick together." I said to her. She grabbed my hand as we began walking in a straight line.

As we began looking around the forest we saw burn marks in the forest. The memories of fighting off the Ghouls in Flame Style began swarming back to me. "I wonder how we are going to get out of this situation this time." I thought to myself as we began walking past all of the wildlife that was untouched by my fight. Just a little farther from the destruction there was a hole in the ground that had a ladder leading into it.

"I'll go down first and then you follow" I told Karina.

"Okay just be careful." Karina said.

I nodded my hair as I began descending down the stairs. Once I got down to the ground I looked around to see the different types of colorful stones in the walls. The torches that were lit had been extinguished causing the entire cave area to be pitch black. I looked up to Karina, "Hey stay up there real quick. It's pitch black down here. I'm going to cast some light and see if it's safe before you come down." I yelled up to her. She nodded her head. I then went to reach into my pocket to pull out the Light Ring but I saw something form in front of me. It was a bright silver ball of light and once it formed it zipped into my hand where I saw the Light spell ring. "Holy crap did I do that?" I thought amazed. So I don't have to reach for my rings in my pocket. I can just summon them at will! Maybe I can do the same thing to my Driver On Ring." I slid the ring on my finger and placed it over the belt.

 **"Light, please"**

A red spell circle appeared in front of me as it emitted a bright light that shot forward into the darkness. Upon doing so it lit up the torches so we could see. I didn't see anything strange as I told Karina to come down. She climbed down the stairs and stood directly behind me. "I don't like this place bro." She said with fear in her voice.

"I don't either. To be honest I'm a little terrified right now." I said as we slowly began moving further into the cave.

We didn't make it far from the entrance when we saw a hole in the wall to the right of us. Once we got there I had flashbacks from when I found the red stone that held Dragon and the Wizard Driver. I also remembered fighting off my despair that later became Dark Wizard. Karina hugged my arm as she remembered being attacked by the ghouls that came after her while I was fighting my dark side.

"Let's keep going. If I remember correctly we aren't far from that room." I said to her. We were thinking about the day that we heard everyone scream from the end of the cave. "Maybe when we reach the end we'll see what turned everyone into Phantoms." I said with sweat rolling down my face.

We traversed farther into the cave and we finally arrived to a giant room. My eyes widened as I scanned the room. There was a giant spell circle that covered the floor of the room and in the middle of the room was a rock that was split in half. Surrounding the rock were corpses stacked high. Their bodies were pretty much preserved, not a single one had deteriorating skin. The spell circle had alot of empty spaces in it so I knew that we weren't going to have to go through what these people had gone through. "Bro...Why are there so many dead bodies here?" Karina asked scared.

"I...I don't know..." I responded back disgusted with what I was seeing.

"That's simple." I heard Gremlin say from the darkness in the end of the room.

I quickly put an arm in front of Karina to keep her behind me. We saw Gremlin in her human form walk out and up to the stone in the middle of the room. Standing behind her was the two people we saw from Wal-Mart. I was going out on a whim and say that was Orthus and Chupacabra. "What's with this room Gremlin?!" I asked her.

"Oh this was an experiment room. You see this room was used to force certain people with strong mana into becoming Phantoms. We used this moon rock to help speed up the process." She said picking up the two stones on the ground. "This is where Medusa and I were created. Then followed by the two boys behind me, and the others from the cave exploration. Unfortunately it drained my master greatly which is why we haven't used this since. But it helped create very powerful Phantoms. But two of the most powerful should've been Phantoms got away." She said as she pointed at the two of us.

"Sorry we are such a disappointment." I said to her in a snarky tone.

"I guess. It also seemed like it was destiny. Who would've thought that Dragon who was sealed away would end up here. The power of Dragon is what amazes me even more. I've done my digging about your Phantom that resides in your belt Travis. Your Phantom is truly supreme, it's powers could rival Master Wiseman. Of course that's to be expected since Dragon was one of the first few Phantoms that roamed this Earth." Gremlin said.

My eyes widened, "Dragon is?" I said bewildered.

"Oh yeah and here's what I know about him being sealed. Dragon turned on his master. He chose to not be his pet centuries years ago, and he attacked his master in hopes of killing him. But his master was the strongest mage of our time and branded him with his mark." Gremlin said.

"Is the mark you're saying the same one that Mark was telling us about?" Karina asked.

"It's known as the Mark of Merlin. Those who have received the Mark of Merlin could not harm him. The ones who had received the Mark of Merlin were exceptionally powerful that if they were not marked they would be able to kill Merlin. These ones that were marked were also to swear their lives to protect him and if they were to retaliate they would be sealed away. I guess you can guess what happened to Dragon." Gremlin said chuckling.

"Who all have the Mark of Merlin Gremlin?" I asked her.

"You've already defeated a few of them. Bloody Mary, Zombie, and the harlot of snakes Medusa." She said with a smile.

Gremlin then pulled out my Driver's On Ring from her pocket. "My ring." I said.

"My goal for bringing you here is to see just how powerful Dragon can be. I want to see the true power of your demon Travis." She said with a smile. She then raised her fingers and snapped them. the two humans behind her came forward in front of her.

"Where's my mother?!" Karina yelled out.

Gremlin began laughing, "HAHAHAHAHA. That was just a lie to get you two to come here and be defenseless. You guys should know that I'm the Phantom that is the master of deception. With Travis not able to transform into Wizard I'm going to guess that I'll be able to see Dragon very soon especially since I know Travis's true hope that will cause him to despair instantly. I saw the day he transformed for the first time." She said with a smile on her face.

I began to break out in a cold sweat as I was trying to figure out what she was saying. My head began to slowly move towards Karina. Gremlin then raised her hand like a gun pointed at Karina, "Bang." She said.

"No way..." I said to myself.

"You know it's interesting to know that the one person who walked into your life after all the hell you've been in, the one person who made you start trusting people again, the one who made you crack out of your shell and gave you a new meaning to your life, is the one who's your hope. The one thing that keeps you living through your days. You may have your friends that came because of her, and you may be terrified of being alone, but deep down you know that if you have just that one person who's made your life better by your side you can always fight back your despair. So imagine how quickly you'll give into Dragon if I snap her neck?" She asked.

"Why not have your two buddies here try and do it then?" I asked her with an angry expression on my face.

"Oh these two?" She said as she put my ring into her pocket and began to transform her hands. She then raised them up and pierced right through their chests from behind as a spell circle appeared on their faces. Their bodies began turning into a mist of mana that then got absorbed into Gremlin's body. "Ahh. What great mana. So delicious! With this I can finally achieve my most powerful form! Just like Medusa did I will have my own Evolved form! Something only those with the Mark of Merlin can achieve!" She said as she turned around to show a rune on the back of her neck.

"Well this day just keeps getting better and better." I said.

"You'll all die here today. This time not a single one of you will be leaving this cave alive." She said confidently.

I placed my hand out to her and then clenched my fist, "I wouldn't be too sure about that." I said to her. I then opened my hand to reveal my Driver's On Ring.

"How did you get that?!" Gremlin asked surprised.

"I am a wizard Gremlin. Oh you might want to check your pocket." I said to her.

She reverted back one of her hands and checked it. She pulled out a rock I had picked up while traversing the cave. "Curse you Ring Bearing Magician! I'll enjoy making you despair as I rip Karina to bits!" She said as she transformed. I slid the ring on my finger.

"Over my dead body." I said to her.

 **"Driver On, please."**

I then slid on my Infinity Ring, "Karina I'm going to cast Defend on you. I need you to run to the exit and get out of here." I said to her.

"Are you going to be alright dealing with Gremlin evolved?" She asked me.

"Oh I'm going to be just fine." I said to her.

I then flipped the levers on my belt. "So it's true that since you've obtained Infinity when you're about to transform with that ring you're eyes become silver almost diamond like." Gremlin said.

"I'll have to take your word for it since I don't know." I said as I scanned the ring.

 **"Infinity! Please!** **Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

The two silver spell circles formed around me as a dragon emerged out of my belt and began flying around me before colliding into me when the circles completely moved over me and pieces of diamonds shattered around me before disappearing. I raised my transformation hand across my face, "I am the final hope." I said as a sparkling light began forming around my hand. I began to clench my hand as the Axecalibur formed. I reached at my chain that held my rings and quickly slid the Defend Ring on and scanned it.

" **Defend, please."**

I shot the spell circle onto Karina and she began making a run towards the exit.

"I'll tell you Travis that was an interesting trick you had up your sleeve there." Gremlin said to me.

"To be honest I didn't know I could do that until just recently." I said to her.

"Heh." She said as a black and green spell circle began appearing all around her. "I guess it doesn't matter, you will see just how dangerous a Mark of Merlin Phantom can really be. I hope you gave your doll your final goodbyes." She said as the spell circles began hitting her body and a massive amount of green mana like a mist began wrapping itself around her as she too began growing bigger. I ran towards her in hopes to stop her from fully transforming but she shot black lightning at me that sent me flying into the walls of the caves. The impact into the caves began shaking the ceiling as pieces of it began falling onto the ground.

"Shit I need to get out of here." I said and as I turned around the only exit became blocked off. "Oh that's not good." I said. The ceiling kept falling around me and I needed to act fast. I grabbed a ring from my chain and slid it on. "Well the only way out of this is by going up." I said as I flipped the levers on my belt and scanned it.

 **"Drill, please."**

I put my hand over my hand as silver spell circles appeared around me covering me from head to toe. The spell circles began spinning around me as I jumped up into the air and began drilling through the cave as quick as I could until I emerged from the ground and back onto land. I floated down to the ground as I turned around to see Karina just getting out just in time. I quickly took steps back as the ground began to cave in and ran towards Karina's side. The ground had a massive hole as I could still sense Gremlin's mana inside all of the rubble.

"Do you think Gremlin would still be alive after that?" Karina asked.

"Yes. She was just evolving. I highly doubt that she is going to die in something like that." I said to her.

"Hahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHA IT'S FINALLY COMPLETE! WITH THIS I HAVE BECOME STRONGER THAN EVER! I HAVE BECOME THE ULTIMATE PHANTOM!" Gremlin said from the ground as a green light formed between the debris and an explosion was made as a pillar of green light formed and began vanishing to reveal Gremlin's new form. Gremlin stood about two feet taller than me and had a black staff that looked like a repaint of Wiseman's Hamel Cane. It even had rings inside of it that were just grey stones.

Gremlin had these two black horns on her head, the middle of her head was split open to reveal a white trim line with a tinted jewel exposed. The areas of her eyes had split from being two to four and had these yellow claws sticking out next to her eyes. Her shoulders both had these mouths with little rows of razor sharp teeth in them. Her entire midsection of her chest had split apart to have a more yellow scales exposed and in the center of it all was another jewel. Her once black legs and black armor had become green with yellow scales on the sides of them and horns sticking out of her kneecaps.

She began to laugh even more as her power began to increase. Waves of mana began shooting out and going through us as the wildlife around us began to rapidly wither and die. "What's going on to the plants and trees?" Karina asked.

"That wave of mana I just shot out is a spell that destroys all the plant life in the surrounding area and I get to absorb it as more mana for me. Get ready Wizard, you're going to get the ever loving hope beaten out you just like I did to Medusa!" She said as vanished from her spot and appeared right next to me. "Heya!" She said as she punched me in the side sending me flying away from Karina. She then vanished and appeared next to me as she grabbed my throat and threw me into the air. I was about twenty feet from the ground as she appeared in front of and stomped her foot onto my chest and we came soaring into the ground. I ended dropping my Axecalibur as I began falling. I was planted about two inches into the ground but I put up my barrier that my form comes with so I wouldn't suffer any damage from the impact.

"Ooh I guess you're form has a barrier that you can erect to withstand any damage. I see I'm going to have to just get more creative then aren't I?" Gremlin said chuckling.

I grabbed her foot as I lifted it off of me and brought my feet up to kick her in the back in causing her to stumble over me so I could get up. I quickly turned around to see that she vanished and began appearing in different directions around me trying to toy with me. She then appeared behind me as I felt her foot kick the back of my leg and then vanished to sucker punch me across the face before vanishing again and appearing to my left with a roundhouse kick and then to my right doing the same kick. She finished her combo with appearing in front of me as she slashed me across the chest and open palm striking me causing me to get flown backwards.

I rolled to a stop on the ground as I tried to stop from being dizzy from her attacks. "I can't fight her when she's moving all over the place. Come on Travis think. There has to be something she's doing that I can use to gain an advantage in this fight." I thought as I began looking at her to see if she leaves an opening. I then saw something. She would tap her foot twice in the direction that she was going to move too and that gave me an idea. I watched as she tapped her foot twice to my left and then vanished. I then calmed my mind down as I spun around and did a sweep with my feet that hit her heel causing her to fall on her back. I quickly scanned my ring again.

 **"Drill, please."**

My left arm was wrapped in those spell circles as I went to plummet the attack into her chest but once she hit the ground she buried herself into the ground and my attack didn't connect with nothing but the dirt. Cracks in the ground formed around me as I pulled my hand back and cancelled my spell. "Her immense speed is starting to get really annoying." I said as she emerged out of the ground and came to strike at me. I moved to the side and noticed that she was a tad bit slower this time.

"Nice dodge." She said breathing a bit heavily.

I reached my hand out as I formed the Axecalibur back into my hand. "There's more where that came from Gremlin." I said to her. She then stretched her arms out as two dark green spell circles appeared and chains began to violently came gushing out towards me. I quickly stabbed my Axecalibur into the ground and switched out rings and scanned them just in time.

 **"Very Nice! Gravity! The Best!"**

A yellow spell circle appeared as the chains hit it and began vibrating as I took control of them. "Let's see how you like dealing with pain Gremlin." I said as I forced the chains back to her and before they hit her the spell cancelled and once she cancelled the spell I had already super sped at her with my weapon in axe mode as I slashed at her side and then turned my weapon around into sword mode as I slashed at her back and then casted my Gravity spell onto her as she had a hard time standing.

"I see you're not as terrible of a fighter. You've gotten stronger and smarter since the cave exploration." She said to me struggling to break free.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've been keeping an close eye on you since the cave exploration. Master Wiseman told me to keep an on you to see if you would be strong enough for the Sabbath." She said.

"Oh really? Care to explain before I rip you to pieces?" I said to her.

"Not really. I mean you won't be conscious long enough to care." She said as she created multiple forms of herself from the soil around her entrapped body. Two clones were made that held their own Hamel Canes that slashed at me and the spell was cancelled as she got free. I dealt with the two clones in front of me as they were circling around me trying to distract me from Gremlin who came in with her cane raised high ready to strike at me. The clone on my left came and punched me across the face then vanished as the other one kicked my back legs making me fall on my back before also vanishing as Gremlin stood over me with the Hamel Cane raised up and before she tried to impale me with I saw someone tackle her hard with them both falling onto the ground.

I quickly got up and saw Mark on the ground with her as he got up complaining about his shoulder hurting, "DAAMNN! That hurt like hell! How heavy do you weigh girl!? Like damn!" He said as Gremlin went to stab him and I got in the way blocking the attack with my weapon. I turned my head to face Mark.

"How the hell did you find me?!" I said to him.

"I saw a pillar of light shoot up into the sky and came to investigate. Also Garuda and Kraken couldn't find you anywhere. This entire forest is covered by a barrier but it seems that light weakened the barrier quite a bit." He said.

"Great I could use a little help." I said to him.

 **"DRIVER ON!"**

"I guess it's lunchtime already! Transform!" Mark said as he did his transformation pose.

 **"Set!"**

 **"Open!"**

 **"L-I-O-N! LION!"**

A yellow spell circle appeared in front of him and phased through his body as his base form appeared. Mark then grabbed a blue ring off his chain, "Let's feast Chimera!" Mark said as placed it on his spell ring finger.

 **"Hyper! Go! Hy-Hy-Hyper!"**

"Wow sparkly." Gremlin said to him.

Gremlin then created multiple clones of herself from the ground as they put us in a giant circle. "Not cool." Mark said. He raised his hand out as his gun formed and I raised my hand up to have my Axecalibur in sword form at the ready. The Gremlins all came running at us with their weapons pointed at us for a piercing attack but Mark spun around me and shot the Gremlin in front of me in one of her eyes causing her to go blind and the rest quickly vanished.

"What happened?" I said surprised.

"Worry about it later right now it's chowtime!" Mark said as his golden tassels stretched out and wrapped around Gremlin's throat and raised her into the air. Mark then pulled back on the mouth of his ring and placed it into the gun. "It's over for you Gremy!" Mark said.

 **"Hyper Magnum Strike!"**

"Aim...and fire!" Mark said as Chimera in a golden form came shooting out of the gun and towards Gremlin but all of the jewels on gremlin began shining brightly and when Chimera hit her they got absorbed into the jewels.

"Oh that's not good." I said. I quickly grabbed a ring and scanned it.

The spell Mark had cast was sent back firing at him as a giant laser beam and I had hoped my spell would get to him quickly. The beam of energy destroyed Mark's tassels holding her in the air.

 **"** **Amazing! Dark Strike! The Best!"**

A bunch of black swords came rushing out and formed a wall between the blast and Mark. Their didn't seem an end to the attack as my swords began cracking so I had one of the swords fly towards Gremlin as it pierced one of the jewels that was in her chest causing her to fall onto the ground as she grabbed the sword and ripped it out of her chest. The jewel was gone but the wound began repairing itself.

"Regeneration magic?! Oh come on that's not fair!" Mark said.

"You're Dolphi Ring can heal people Mark." I said to him.

"Yeah but at the cost of using up...Alot of mana?! Travis! If we can destroy her jewels we'll be able to stop her power to absorb mana. If we can do that we'll be able to finish her off together!" Mark suggested.

I looked back at Gremlin who was laughing, "Let's see you try that!" She said as she tossed her Hamel Cane into the air as it began to levitate and form multiple versions of them. One of them shot into the ground as the ground exploded. "If you can survive in one piece that is." She said.

"Mark stay behind m- Where did you go?" I said as I turned around to see Mark zooming all over the place super fast. Gremlin didn't hesitate to start firing countless Canes at him and Mark was doing an amazing job at dodging them at last second. I then thought of an idea as I grabbed a ring and scanned it.

 **"Voice, voice, voice, voice, voice, please."**

I then had these sound vibrations forming around my hand as the spell kept getting stronger. I then looked up at Mark who close to his goal with his gun held out towards Gremlin's forehead. "MARK! FINALE TIME!" I yelled out to him.

"OH HELL YEAH!" Mark said excitingly.

He put his ring into his Mirage Magnum again.

 **"Hyper Magnum Strike!"**

I then slammed my spell into the ground as I controlled it to move through the ground until it got underneath Mark and caused the ground to erupt from under him causing him to fly up into the air as he aimed his gun that was charging up at Gremlin. I then prepared my attack with my Axecalibur.

 **"Turn On!"**

My weapon began to make a mystical noise as I super sped towards Gremlin with my hands still on my weapon. Once I got to a certain distance Mark fired Chimera again at Gremlin who absorbed the attack and I let go of my weapon as it began to get bigger and moved freely over the palm of my hand.

 **"Shining Plasma Strike!"**

I got around the Canes and right up in Gremlin's face as she began firing Chimera back at Mark. I raised the Axe and slammed it right into her forehead where her jewel lied as it cracked and ripped my weapon out of her head. I then heard Mark hooting and hollering above.

"WOOHOO! Let's finish this together Travis!" Mark said as he placed his Lion Ring into his belt.

 **"Kick Strike! Go!"**

I then followed suit as I sliced at both of Gremlin's ankles causing her to bend down to the ground and grabbed a ring and scanned it.

 **"Very Nice! Kick Strike! Fabulous!"**

I then jumped up into the air next to Mark as a yellow spell circle appeared in front of him and a silver one in front of me. We both kicking through the circles as his had the head of Chimera wrapped around his foot and I had a bunch of shining diamonds around mine. We came zooming from the air as we both hit different sides of Gremlin who doing her best to not fall to the ground. "FINALE!" Mark and I both said together as we poured more mana into our attack and Gremlin gave out a death cry as she hit her back onto the ground. When she did her body produced a huge explosion and the left side of her had a huge spell circle that resembled mine while the right side of her had Mark's spell circle burned into the ground.

I slid my Infinity Ring off my finger as Mark closed the gates on his belt allowing us to revert back to our human forms. I had sweat pouring down my face, "Fwew. I thought I was going to have a hard time there." I said breathing heavily.

"Yesh! That was fricking amazing! Look we even put half of our spell circles in that ground! Oh that looks so badass! I'mma take a picture!" Mark said as he took out his phone and took a selfie of us in front of the burning engravement. When he snapped the photo it got me trying to lunge at him to not take the photo. But Mark spun away laughing, "Oh come one Travis you gotta admit that was fun! The best duo Rider Kick ever! This is going into my Masked Rider Album photo collection I have at home!" Mark said running off.

"But I'm all sweaty and beaten that photo. Oh well I guess it's not like anyone's gonna see it." I said with a slight chuckle. We then noticed the forest greatly changed to what was an empty cornfield. It was massive as we were out in the countryside. "Wait a minute...The forest was all an illusion too?" I thought as Mark and Karina began looking all around.

"Bro what's this all about?" Karina asked as I noticed the country road next to us.

"Do you think that Gremlin set up this giant illusion?" Mark asked.

"Not possible. Gremlin was a Phantom after the exploration. But look the country road back to town is different now. It's not the dark grey gravel that you would see in forested areas." I said. I turned around and ran back to the entrance where the cave was and it was all sealed up, the cracks in the ground and cave in was completely removed. Almost like it didn't exist in the first place. "So was there really a cave here to begin with?" I thought to myself.

"Oh no! It's almost time to meet mom!" Karina said.

Okay let's head back home based on the country road we are about two miles out from Bowling Green." I said.

 **"Connect, please."**

A red spell circle appeared in front of me as I grabbed my bike through it and pulled it out, "Hop on sis." I said throwing her a helmet. "Mark are you going to be able to get back okay? Mark?" I asked worried about him staring off in the distance.

"Yeah you guys go on ahead. There's something I want to look at around here. It's probably nothing but I'll be back soon at the house." Mark said as he waved goodbye to us.

I began driving us onto the road as we headed back to our home. We finally got to Grounds for Thought as I parked us in the back parking lot. "Bro why not just park up front? That's where she's waiting for us?" Karina asked me.

"I just want to make sure you're ready for this. I don't know if you're fully ready to see your mother." I asked her.

"I thought about what you said earlier and during the time Gremlin deceived us into thinking my mother was with her, there was a great concern and fear that I might lose her. I think I do care about my mom because she is family to me. Plus I know that over time people can change how they live their lives. I at least want to give her that chance." She said to me with confidence.

"Alright let's go meet her then." I said as we got off the bike. We entered through the back entrance and made our way to the front. We only got halfway into the book store when Karina saw a woman with long black hair, dark brown skin, glasses, wrinkled face, wearing a tunic like dress that covered her entire body from neck to her feet. The dress was predominately white and around the leg portion was a huge red, white and green stripe. The person saw Karina as she stopped putting her hands over her mouth.

"Hija.." The lady said with a heavy Spanish accent.

"Madre..." Karina said back to her.

The lady came walking up to Karina with tears running down her face and Karina met her giving her a hug. Karina's mom was hugging her tight as she began speaking more Spanish as she began sobbing at the sight of her daughter that she hadn't seen so long.

"I missed you so much...I'm so sorry for abandoning you I really am...Oh my baby girl..." She said not letting her go.

The two finally released each other as Karina turned and grabbed me pulling me towards her mom. I then got to see just how much tears Karina was shedding. "I think I get it now. Karina must've wanted her mother back so badly this entire time." I thought to myself.

"Who's this young man hija?" She asked.

"Mom this is my close friend Travis Edge. He's been taking care of me for the past year. He's like family to me. I see him like my brother." She said to her mom.

"I hope my daughter hasn't been much trouble for you." She said with a caring smile.

"No actually it's been the opposite." I said to her.

"Where's Eduardo hija?" Her mom asked.

Karina didn't know how to tell her mom about how her brother became a Phantom and had made her despair in the process. I then stepped in, "Oh Karina I didn't know you had a brother? You never told me about that." I said and Karina followed my lead.

"Oh yeah I'm sorry about that. Eduardo and I went our separate ways a few years ago. We had a bad falling out. I haven't heard from him since." Karina said as she pulled off the lie.

Her mom looked really sad to hear this, "I was hoping I could see him too. I'm sorry that happened to you Karina." Her mom said.

We then spent the next two hours all of us hanging out. I took us out to eat at one of the dine in restaurants nearby as we explained a different version of how we had met and known each other. We explained how the two of us had helped each other through the rough year we've had and the friends we made along the way. Karina's mom was staying outside of the city with a friend she had met who visited Mexico and helped her get her American Citizenship just so she could see her daughter. Her mom explained how those two bonded and are now living together. Karina's mother ended up leaving after the restaurant to go do some things before she met up with her ride home. But before she left us she gave one final hug to her daughter and a slip of paper with her mom's phone number on it. She gave me her goodbyes as she thanked me for taking care of Karina as she promised to try and make it up to her to be a better and active mother in her daughter's life.

As we walked away Karina was staring at the piece of paper, "I hated my mother for a long time. But I realized today that it wasn't hate that I had for her. It was the want of my mother being in my life." She said.

"I know that feeling really well. I would love to have my mother back in my life as well, both of my parents." I said to her.

"Thank you for not telling her that Eduardo is dead." Karina said to me.

"No problem. I don't know entirely if you're mom is a Gate. But if she was and seeing her reaction to you, I figured it was best not to bring it up. Although I don't feel good lying to her." I said honestly.

"I don't want to see her get mixed up in this Phantom business. I don't want to lose another part of my family to the war we're fighting. I think it's a lot better that she didn't know and when it's all over I'll tell her everything then." Karina said as we hopped onto the bike and headed home.


	6. The Gates Stream

After spending the whole day with Karina's mom, we finally got back to the house. Once we got there I began walking side by side with Karina. "Bro thank you." Karina said to me.

"For what?" I responded back.

"For helping me to see my mother again. You really have grown since I first met you."

"If I'm honest with myself, that part of me still exist. Life was so easy for me back then. The only thing I had to deal with was moving on from my parents. But I'm sure that Travis would've gone down a dark path. I'm actually kind of glad I met you, I may not have my mom and dad anymore, but I have such great friends that I can love and support. I was in a dark place with my parents gone. But you helped pull me out of that muck. You were the first friend I had in a long time and then everyone else just kind of followed." I said to her.

"Do you think we'll be able to save our friends and Maria?" Karina asked.

"Yes I know for sure we'll save them again. After today I'm sure I can. If I'm being honest it greatly scares me if I can or not. But nothing good will come of this If I don't stay positive. I mean I've come back from the brink of death twice, I finally beat Vanity, I took Medusa and Gremlin down. Phoenix is gone and it seems like these Marked Phantoms are a bit of cake. I honestly think I got this. With you guys near me I'm sure I will beat Makoto Fueki and end all of this nightmare." I said with confidence.

"What's up with all of the confidence lately? Normally you sulk about these things a lot." Karina asked me.

"The last few days I've talked about my issues with Mark and Rachel. They've been really helpful. I'm sure that I will get better with these situations emotionally. I'm trying to be able to not let things get me down and it's kind of hard, but I know it's doable." I said with a smile.

We were finally up at the front door and I unlocked it as we walked into a dark room. "Aww everyone is asleep already." Karina said.

I then yawned, "We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for you." I said to her as I hung up my black leather trench coat on the rack next to the door.

"What's tomorrow?" Karina asked.

"Silly. Did you really forget? It's Mark's birthday." I chuckled.

Tomorrow was Mark's birthday. April 29th and everyone had gone to bed early because of the special surprise we were doing for his 17th. It was going to be a great birthday for him. Karina was going to help keep Mark busy with some grocery shopping for the house and during that time everyone else was going to set up the decorations. Karina went up to her room hopping happy as she went to sleep. I went to plug my phone to charge and then walked inside DJ's office where the Wizard Chest is. I began shifting around the different rings I had collected over the year I've been a Masked Rider.

"Back then things seemed so easy." I said as I looked at an Engage Ring. I tossed the ring back into the chest, but it hit the end and fell on the floor rolling underneath the desk. "Damn it." I said under my breath. I got underneath the desk to grab the ring and noticed a handle in the wall. It was a little dark for me to see but I grabbed the handle and tried to turn it but it wouldn't budge. I then noticed a keypad next to it. "A safe? I wonder what's in it." I didn't know the password and figured that I would attempt to open it another time.

I grabbed the spare Engage Ring as I put it away and headed to bed.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

(After the Fight)

I ended up staying around after the fight, I had felt a really weird presence that I felt back when I hunted down Crescent. It was a feeling I had experienced so many times before, and every time it was one where I found a pile of dead bodies lying everywhere on the ground. "I might be overthinking things but I just want to be sure." I said in my mind as I walked forward from the battlefield. I must've walked almost a mile forward until I hit a barrier, and a strong one at that. I was out in an open corn field but when I placed my hand on a barrier I could see bits of a forest appear and disappear. I clenched my fists as I punched the barrier but it wasn't breaking. I reached my hand over my belt as my Dice Saber appeared into my hand. "Let's try this." I swung my blade across the barrier and that did exactly nothing. I ended up pounding the barrier upset. Once my fist hit the barrier I noticed my body glowing and my hand phasing through the barrier. The mana of the barrier began seeping into my body as I moved through it.

"What the hell? What did I just do? I felt like I absorbed some of that barrier's mana?!" I looked back to see the opened hole I made get repaired very quickly. "I'm guessing I can absorb mana from barriers. Useful I suppose." I said as I looked around to see a luscious and thriving forest. The entire forest looked like it covered the entire country side. "Is this entire countryside just one big illusion caused by this barrier? I'd feel like you would have to have a huge amount of mana just to keep this up." I said amazed.

Animals were not present in the barrier but I could tell that this wasn't the source of the dread that I felt. I looked back to see a bird fly towards the barrier and upon hitting it, quickly vanished as if it was never existed in the first place. "Obviously someone doesn't want a single thing inside this barrier. Could this barrier have made by Wiseman?" I thought. I knew I shouldn't be here for very long as I followed my gut that led me deeper into the forest.

Once I got to the center of the of the forest I saw an empty river stream that seem to end at what might be the barrier. I about threw up as I saw corpses piled up on top of each other. Each corpse was preserved so it looked like a human being sleeping in a dead like position. I looked up and down the stream as I saw hundreds of people from different walks of life. But what made me really surprised was that most of the people I saw were people who were Phantoms. "What the hell? All of these people couldn't be Phantoms." I said keeping my hand over my mouth. I began walking down the path of the stream as I saw someone I knew.

It was a woman with long brunette hair, white skin that shined, she had freckles on her cheeks and was wearing a white dress that everyone else in the stream were wearing. She had a misshapen triangle like chin and underneath it was two bite marks. "Klarissa Wells…." I said as I kneeled to the ground and tried to reach my hand out to her. My hand hit a glass that vibrated throughout the entire stream. "No, no, no, NO!" I said as I pounded the glass.

"I thought I felt my barrier weaken for a few seconds." Wiseman said walking up behind me.

I turned around to see Makoto transformed in her Phantom form.

"Why is she in this stream?! What's up with the all of the corpses of those who were once Phantoms!?" I demanded.

"This trench of the corpses is called the Gates Stream. In here was everyone who were once Gates until their Phantoms took them over. Have you ever thought of what happens to the bodies that you and Travis destroy end up? They all end up in my Gates Stream. I will very soon be bringing all of these people back to life." Wiseman said to me.

"Wait, you'll bring them all back to life? Including Klarissa?" I said as I looked back at her preserved corpse. I had a tear run down my face. I remembered my last time I saw her. The woods we were living in were on fire. We were trying to run from a Phantom but in order to do so we had to split up. Klarissa hid me inside a hole of a tree for safety.

" _Mark I need you to be strong okay. I'm going to lure it out of the forest. Meet me at this address in three hours. I'm going to need you to be strong for me and when you get the opportunity to run, run. Don't look back."_

" _I don't want to! I can help fight this Phantom! I don't want to lose another person I care about the most! Please let me go with you!"_

" _For once Mark just do what I tell you do! Please! Now stay hidden and meet me at the tavern got it?"_

I then remembered hiding in the tree as I watched her run and leaving me behind.

"Yes Mark, I will even revive Klarissa. The woman who you once saw as a second mother to you."

My eyes snapped open as I looked at Wiseman, "How do you know that?!" I asked.

"Every single one of these people's minds are still currently active in the Stream. I can look into the minds of everyone here as who they were when they were human. I know how much she cared about you, even thru all of the fights you guys had. Join me Mark, in doing so you'll have your precious friend back by your side again." Wiseman said with his hand stretched out towards me.

I looked back down at the bodies as I began to have a second to think about it. I had a tear run down my face as I closed my eyes, breathe heavily, and then opened them slowly.

"Not happening." I said under my breath.

"What was that?" Wiseman asked with a confused tone.

" **DRIVER ON!"**

My belt emerged as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Lion Ring.

"I said no! Now just sit there and let Chimera feed on you! Transform!"

I widened out my stance as I spun my arms in a circle and placed the ring into the belt.

" **SET! OPEN!"**

" **L-I-O-N. LION!'**

A yellow spell circle shot out from my belt as I ran straight through and jumped into the battlefield with my Dice Saber and Mirage Magnum already in hand. I swiped at Wiseman who dodged and tried to kick me. I leaned my body down as low as I could dodging the attack and raised my gun at his face as I pulled back on the trigger shooting a few blasts at him. Wiseman stumbled back from the blasts as I shot one at his foot and then spun around slashing him across his chest. I then slashed a few more times before I raised the gun at the center of my slashes and pulled the trigger. I then threw my gun to the side as I spun the wheel on my saber and placed my ring into the side.

" **2! Saber Strike!"**

I pulled on the trigger and slashed at the air as two gold lions erupted out and began slashing at Wiseman. Wiseman had fallen to the ground and once my spell wore off I placed my Lion Ring into my belt.

" **Kick Strike! Go!'**

"I'm going to be the one to end this nightmare you've created for everyone. It's dinner time Chimera!" I said as my left foot became engulfed into a gold like flare. Wiseman quickly got up off the ground as I flipped in midair and came soaring at him. Right before I hit him my mana turned into Chimera's mouth and began gnawing at him in different directions before my foot hit him and sent him flying across the battlefield. I landed on the ground as Wiseman began rolling on the ground. Wiseman lifted his hand up to me and then exploded sending a wave of the blast at me.

I de-transformed as I began breathing a bit heavily. I reached for my face as I wiped the tears that had been rolling down my face the entire fight. "I want to believe that it's over now but I noticed that it didn't get absorbed into my belt." I said.

"Exactly Mark. Because that was a clone of mine." Another Wiseman said behind me.

" **Explosion, now."**

I turned around to see a purple spell circle appear in front of me as Wiseman in his mage form casted the spell that sent me flying to the far end of the barrier as I rolled out on my side. I wasn't hurt by the blast, but the force of it was what sent me flying.

"You'd think I would make my presence to see you Mark? I know how dangerous you can be with that belt's power to absorb mana. Don't try to come back into this barrier you won't be able to get back in. It's a shame because I was hoping you would want to see your lovely Klarissa again." Wiseman said as the barrier vanished and I was back in the unpopulated cornfield once more.

I looked around outside to notice that it was pretty late in the morning. "That barrier operates on a different time zone than ours? Interesting." I got up off the ground shaking the grass and everything off my clothes as I transformed and flew back home. But it wasn't until I thought about my friend once more. "What a great way to start off my birthday. I'm so upset I just want to go sleep." I said as I got closer to my home.


	7. Mark's 17th Birthday

(Robin's Viewpoint)

Morning came and I had been awakened by a call from the station while at DJ's residence. "Hello?" I said feeling really tired.

"Robin we found another killing. Body was found at Carter Park." An officer said on the phone.

"Oh no not now of all days." I thought.

I got up and told the officer I'll be right there and as I looked around for my keys to my police car I saw Travis laying on the couch on the other side of the room from me. "Should I wake him and have him help me track this monster? I probably shouldn't he's been through enough and it's Mark's birthday, he should have some fun while he can. He's still just a kid, and one that has been forced to see a side of the world that not a lot of people should be seeing at that age." I thought to myself. I then saw his phone lying on the table directly in front of him. "If things do get crazy I'll just call him." I then grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a letter about my leave of absence. I had really hoped that this case wouldn't lead to a Phantom and that it was just a murder done by a human being. We still haven't had any leads on what the killer is, but my involvement with the case was handed to another co-worker of mine just so I could get some work off my plate.

I grabbed my keys and jacket off the coat hanger by the door and drove off to the crime scene.

Once there I was greeted by four different officers. There was cop cars with their lights on that lit up the entire park. Police "Do Not Cross." "So what do we have Officer?" I asked.

The officer was a middle age black male. His name was Reginald Hoffman. He had bald head, and was one of our most athletic officer's who's been with the force for about 25 years. He had the opportunity to go Chief, but turned it down. Reginald walked me towards the crime scene and lying in front of me was a body missing it's arms, legs, and head. It was just the chest piece with the shirt removed and the words "Ugly Part" carved into it.

"Someone reported hearing a scream and witnessed someone or something just bolting across the park at this guy who was going for a morning jog. We have the witness sent to the station for questioning of anything else but all we have is that the murder happened in five seconds prior to the scream. Once the limbs were removed the figure vanished." Reginald said to me.

I then saw an area boxed off a few feet before the body. I walked over to see two footprints that were not human. But before I could fully look at them I saw my mother enter the crime scene.

"Mo…Uh I mean Chief." I said correcting myself.

"Robin what are you doing here?" She said as she walked up to me.

"I got a call from Reginald. Mom I really think we should have this case turned over to me." I said as I pulled her to the side so no one else would hear us.

"Why would you request that of me?" She asked me.

"This thing is another Phantom I know it. I can get Travis and Mark to help and we can end these murders. Please you have to entrust me to take over this case." I requested.

"No." She said.

"But why?!" I asked.

"First off we don't know if this is another monster attack. We are not certain, I don't want to get Travis and Mark involved 100% into a case that would sway them from dealing with the Phantoms. They are doing what they can to protect humanity, us police will take care of what we can handle. If this killer is indeed a Phantom, then we will get those two involved. Plus those two are still just teenagers. They both seem to have lived lives different from ours. Their lives have already been hell and as a mother I would not want to keep constantly throwing them into situations like this. I will also have a talk with Reginald for calling you in. Today is your day off because of it being Mark's birthday. We can handle this on our own Robin. Now go and have fun if things seem to be getting out of hand then I'll get ahold of you three right away." She said to me.

"Okay…Chief." I said to her.

I walked past her while the thought of these killings laid heavily on my mind.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

My alarm was blaring loudly on my phone as I reached out to grab it. I knocked the phone off the table. "Ugh great. Oh that noise. Now I remember why I don't use my phone's alarm to wake me up." I said as picked up the phone off the floor. I began doing my morning stretches and let out a big yawn. I saw Robin enter the living room with a couple of white mugs with coffee in them. She set one on the table down in front of me.

"Good morning Travis. How'd you sleep?" Robin asked me.

"I haven't slept that well in months." I responded back as I blew on my coffee.

"Oh do you want some creamer for the coffee? Black coffee isn't really the best." Robin asked.

"Nah I'm good. I never had black coffee before and could really use the pick me up. Has Karina left with Mark yet?" I said sipping the coffee.

"Yeah she and Mark are walking in the woods behind the house." She responded.

I then began to hear someone running in the hallway as Shawn ran to the living room carrying a box. I noticed a ring materialized on my finger and scanned it quickly.

" **Defend, please."**

I casted a red spell circle towards the steps from the living room into the hallway as Shawn tripped forward. But instead of him falling onto the floor, he hit the spell circle.

'OOF! Oh crap I was about to fall wasn't I?" He asked stumbling backwards.

I nodded my head at him as I took another sip of my coffee. "Shawn remember not to run around with things blocking your view. You can get really hurt." Robin said. Shawn scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry I'm just really excited to help throw this party for Mark. He hasn't been seeming like himself lately and looks like he's been bottling some stuff up." I then looked at Shawn.

"You know that would make some sense. I noticed it last night after our fight with Gremlin. He normally isn't the type to want to be left alone. He used to be when we were kids, but since he's been back he's been usually open about what's going on. What about you Robin? Has he said anything to you about what's eating at him?" I asked sipping the coffee.

"Um not really. Actually there is but I'm not sure if it's my place to say." Robin responded.

"That's fine I'm sure he will tell us when he's ready. Come on let's get started on decorating the living room. We should be able to get it all done in 15 minutes then I can notify Karina to bring him in." I said to the two.

"How are we going to decorate the entire room in 15 minutes? We still have to get all of the presents from Karina's room down here as well as the cake?" Shawn wondered.

"Shoot I knew I forgot something! I left the cake in my fridge at home!" Robin said.

"Let's not worry about any of that. I'll create clones of myself and we can get this going. As for the cake, I'll get that right now." I said as I held up my hand for my Spell Rings. Shawn and Robin saw my Defend Ring de-materialize and get replaced with my Connect Ring.

"Hey that's super sweet! When did you learn to do that?!" Robin and Shawn said at the same time.

"Yesterday. I think my mana is increasing and I'm learning new types of magic. Actually this is how I got the upper hand on Gremlin yesterday."

"That's still super cool!" Shawn said amazed.

" **Connect, please."**

A red portal appeared next to me as I put my hand through it and pulled out the cake from Robin's fridge. The cake was a square white cake with gold frosting on the sides and blue frosting on top. We had paid extra at Krogers to put a photo on the cake of Mark holding Gryphon in his palm of his hand while smiling. Unfortunately the chefs weren't able to get Mark's crazy wild hair in the shot so it looked funny.

"Hahaha He looks so weird without hair!" Robin said jokingly.

I picked up the cake and moved it to the table in the middle of the room. My Connect Ring vanished and my Copy Ring appeared. "Alright everyone let's get started on the decorating of the living room." I said.

" **Copy, please."**

Six red spell circles appeared around me as they became different versions of me. As soon as they appeared they all began moving all about the room. Robin began helping and Shawn went to keep a lookout for Mark and Karina. While everyone was decorating I went up to my room to get the movie I rented from Family Video and as I walked to my door I saw a photo of me and Manuela at her Valentine's Day Concert after we went searching for that guy who had lost in the singing competition. We both had a huge smile on our faces as the top winners had their pictures taken. Manuela had insisted that I be in the shot. Seeing that moment of us together reminded me how much I had missed her, and that she had a gift for Mark for his upcoming birthday.

I entered the room with a heavy thought on my mind as I went up to a pink night stand and opened the bottom drawer to a finely wrapped blue package and a gold bow on it. "I wish you were here to give this to him." I said under my breath. I grabbed the package and the DVD on my dresser as I headed back downstairs. I was really amazed at how decorated the place was in a short amount of time. We had a huge white sign connected to the ceiling saying "Happy 17th Birthday Mark!" Birthday balloons of different colors with sparkling designs on them, presents surrounding the birthday cake that had the number 17 candle already lit, party poppers, blue and gold streamers dangling all over the entrance to the house, and a music player with sounds of nature playing throughout the room.

I placed the gift from Manuela at the back of the table that had the gifts and cake and placed the movie on top of it. "Okay guys Karina is coming back in!" Shawn said as he, and the rest of us hid behind the giant sofa that surrounded the table with the cake on it.

"Okay everyone be quiet and when you hear the door open jump out and say Happy Birthday! Okay?" I said to everyone. Robin bonked Shawn on his head.

"Shawn shush! You'll ruin it. You have to be quiet." She demanded.

I had cancelled out my spell on my clones as they vanished.

(Mark's viewpoint)

Karina had walked up to the front door with me as I had my hands in my vest's pockets. "Do you feel a lot better now Mark?" Karina asked me.

"Yeah I just trying to accept she's dead and it's really hard on me. It's been two years since I've taken up the mantle of Masked Rider Beast. It's hard for me to get over her when I transform because this was her power before it was mine. It's hard for me to find closure but I can't keep letting that chain me down. I'm sure if she was here she would tell me to man up and move on." I said with a sad tone in my voice.

"When all of this Phantom stuff is over, you should sit down and tell everyone. I know you said that you weren't going to give me the whole story but I'd love to know what your adventure was prior to coming to us. It would be helpful for you to move on if you talk about it with your friends rather than holding it all in." Karina said to me.

"I can see now how you broke the hard shell Travis put himself in when he met you. He told me how you just showed up in his life and because of you things started changing. I sometimes wonder if his hope is you. I mean yeah that sounds like all of us aren't that important to him as you are, but he was probably in a dark moment of his life and you probably saved him from all of that. I can see why he considers you like a family member." I said with a smile.

"Yeah. He reminds me a lot of my brother years back. Even at times it shows when he has to fight to protect me. I don't think his hope is just me thought. I'm sure it's all of us." Karina said passionately to me.

I had a smile on my face as I grabbed the door handle, "I'm glad to know that he found a group of people that cared about him. I wish I had that as well back then." I thought as I opened the door.

I walked inside as I saw the streamers and decorations placed all over the living room. My eyes widened as I looked around to see that the living room had transformed into one giant party room. Then I saw my friends jump out from behind the furniture.

"HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY MARK BOGER!"

"Oh my God..!" I said surprised as Shawn and Robin pulled on poppers next to me covering me in confetti and string. Karina appeared behind me and placed a scarf around my neck that had hair made from a lion's mane as she took out her phone and captured a photo.

"What's a Masked Rider without a scarf?" Karina said as she snapped a picture.

I was still stunned and shocked at my birthday surprise, "Guys you did all of this for me?!" I said shocked. Travis walked up to me as he had a box with a red plaid design and a blue bow on it.

"Yes we did. Here's a gift for from me. It was hard finding this. Happy Birthday Mark." He said with a huge smile on his face. I reached out for the box as I undid the bow and opened the lid. Inside was a bright red vest with fur around neck of it. "I noticed your yellow vest you've been wearing was getting worn out so I bought you a new one." He said.

Tears were filling up in my eyes as I had an emotional rush coursing through my entire body. Shawn grabbed his gift for me off the stack of others on the table as he walked up to me. "This one's yours from me." He said.

It was a small blue rectangle box with a pink bow on it. I undid the bow and opened it up to see the new Call of Duty game in it. Excitement filled up inside me as Shawn gave me a bro hug. "Oh my God thank you Shawn." I said as the tears began to slowly fall down my face.

Robin and Karina had a big box on the table with my birthday cake on it as they had me sit down. "Karina took up a small job for me at the office one day to help pay for this once we found out what Shawn was getting for you. She worked really hard and took her entire paycheck to help pitch in for it." Robin said. This box had no bow on it but was a red background wrapper with a bunch of animals all over the paper. I opened up the box to see another box that said "Playstation 4" on it. "You're going to need that if you want to play the new Call of Duty game.' Karina said to me.

I couldn't hold it in anymore as I cried tears of joy at what my friends had gone through to help me have a great birthday party. Travis sat next to me, "The decorations in the living room were all bought from DJ so we could get all of this ready early. Also Manuela had a gift for you that she got a few months back." Travis said as he got back up and walked over to the gift all by itself on the end of the table.

He handed the blue and gold package to me. It was a bit big and as I grabbed it I could tell that it was a blanket and a thick one at that. "Is this a blanket?" I asked.

"You'll have to open it up and find out." Travis said to me.

I ripped the wrapping off of it as I unveiled a reversible sided blanket. On one side was a white cloth that had a tall mayonnaise bottle on it with a picture of my belt in the middle of the bottle. On the opposite side was a black cloth with a picture of all of my friends in a group photo with the biggest smiles. Everyone was there: DJ, Manuela, Karina, Shawn, Robin, and Travis with a peace sign in the shot. Robin stood in a professional manner with her hands in a salute, DJ stood next to Travis with his hand on his shoulder, Shawn made a goofy face, and Karina did bunny ears behind Shawn.

"You guys have no idea how much this means to me." I said as we all got a group hug going as I couldn't stop crying the joyful tears that my friends had gone out of their way to do for me. We stayed like that for a while before we began opening more of the other presents that were left on the table. Robin had bought me a new hiking bag since mine was wearing out, Shawn and Karina had gone doing side jobs around town to get money together for a new tent for me, and Travis found me a set of t-shirts that had the animals of my Rings on them.

We then spent the rest of the day enjoying the cake and sharing stories of our lives. Travis had gotten an anime movie for all of us to watch as we all huddled up together on the big sofa with popcorn and pop. Robin had never gotten into anime nor was she interested in the media, but decided to watch as it meant spending time with everyone.

Night time fell superfast as Robin ended up leaving to spend time with her mother. They had plans to go to Olive Garden for a family reunion. Shawn left the house with Robin who dropped him off at Travis's old house so he could play some new games he had received recently. Karina was hanging out with me in the living room as Travis was in DJ's office trying to figure out how to break into the safe he had found. It didn't take long for Travis to come back out into the living room admitting defeat for the night of the safe.

"Still can't open it?" I asked.

"Nah it's pretty aggravating. I looked around DJ's office space for password combinations and I found like 91 of them and have tried like 13 of them already. I'm just going to try again tomorrow." He said defeated.

"You know we watched that anime earlier and they use the word "Henshin" which is translated as "Transform" in English. The hero henshins in order to protect his friends and the ones he cares about." Karina said.

"Yeah so?" Travis said sitting on the couch with us finally.

"Oh I get what you're saying! When Travis and I transform we should say "Henshin" instead of transform! I like that idea. It can represent and by symbolic of us willing to fight for the ones we love. I mean we are pretty much already superheroes so we should be a little flamboyant with ourselves!" I said laughing.

"I'm not a weaboo Mark. I'm not ever going to say "Henshin" when I transform. I think just saying transform is enough don't you think?" He said to me.

"Oooh come on and have some open mind buddy! We've been beating all of the powerful Phantoms like crazy, Wiseman sees you as a major threat, Vanity has been defeated, you defeated Dark Wizard, I took down Phoenix, you killed Medusa, I think we are allowed to have a little change to how we transform don't you?" I suggested.

"I mean if you want to do it go for it, I'm not entirely on board of saying a word that means the same in the English language." Travis said as he took a sip of his juice bottle. "Oh I'm out of V8. I'm going to run out to Walmart you guys want anything?" He asked.

"Nah I've had a great day I think I'm going to go pitch up my new tent before that snow comes in tonight. Do you want to help me Karina? I can teach you how to set up a tent, it can be a useful knowledge for you." I asked.

"Yeah sure! Let's go do this!" She said as she ran to get out of her pajamas and into warm clothes.

Travis grabbed his black coat and put the hood up as he waved goodbye and walked out to his bike.

At the moment I didn't know what could've happened, but I almost wish I went with him, if I had known that he wouldn't have returned the moment he walked out that door.


	8. Beginning of the Eclipse

(Two Days Later)

(Mark's Viewpoint)

I had been flying all over the city for the past two days. Robin had put out an Missing Child report for Travis, Shawn and Karina had been asking people around town where he could be. None of us had seen him since he walked out the door on the night of my birthday. I had dropped down onto the roof of a building and reverted back to my human form as I punched a wall. "DAMN IT! Where are you Travis?" I just couldn't understand what might've happened to him. My phone began ringing as I picked it up. "Hello?" I responded.

"Mark it's Robin. Any luck on finding some leads?"

"No. I've searched this entire city from the sky and I haven't been able to find anything. How's Karina and Shawn doing?" I said.

"Nothing. Do you think White Wizard took Travis?" Robin replied.

"If she did I doubt that she would've succeeded. Remember when Travis's mana was sealed? She told him that he wasn't a threat to her anymore. So I would highly doubt that she would try to do something like kidnap him...Unless she wasn't alone..." My mind went back to DJ, Maria, and Manuela who had become mages through Makoto Fueki. "What if Travis was kidnapped by Manuela and the other two? He mentioned that just fighting DJ and Maria was a bit of a hassle, but I'm sure if you threw Manuela into that mix he might find it hard to take her on. Plus I remember him saying that Maria and DJ had special abilities in their Rider forms that make fighting them challenging, so what abilities does Manuela have if she was present as well." I thought.

"Mark are you still there?" Robin asked me.

"Yeah sorry I was lost in thought. I'm going to look at a few places I want to double check on and I'll be home. Have Karina try to search for him in her crystal ball in the living room. She can track me and him through that." I suggested as I hung up the phone. I then transformed again and flew back to where I found the barrier where the Gates Stream was located. Once there I tried to enter it but noticed that it was gone. "Wait I was able to gain access to this before. So why is it gone? Did Makoto just transport it somewhere else?" I thought as I started feeling a bit irritated. "I might as well just go back home, I can't keep looking for him if I'm going to not have a cool head. I'm also hungry too so I should head back." I said as I flew off back home.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

My eyes slowly began to open up as I noticed I was bound in chains with my arms behind my back. I looked around to see that I was in a cell. But this cell looked familiar. I looked over to the sound of water dripping down a wall. "This is the abandoned jail cells where we fought Doppel. How did I get back here?" I said as every thing looked like it was spinning. I tried to stand up but fell on to the ground as everything around me was spinning like crazy. "All I remember was coming back from Wal-Mart and found someone collapsed on the road. I went to help them but...Arrrghh my head..." I said as I stopped remembering. I tried to break free from the chains but they were wrapped around me pretty well. "These aren't normal chains, they have mana infused with them. But my legs aren't bound so at least I can walk if I can get over this vertigo thing going on." I said.

I stayed still for a bit with my eyes close as I allowed my mind to rest before I opened my eyes. I think about ten minutes must've passed before I opened them again. When I did my vision was so much clearer. I noticed someone else in a cell across from me. I slowly made myself stand back up as I started walking towards the bars of my cell. "Hey! You alive over there?" I called out. The hallway and our cells were a bit dark and the lights in the hallway began flickering on. "Somebody needs to get in here and do something about the lighting in this place." I joked. I then had enough light to see a capsule filled with orange liquid in the cell that had someone inside it. I could only see the head of the person and I had to squint a little bit to make out the face. The person was a brown skin female with long brown hair. "Wait a minute...Is that Maria Urbieta?" I said. I then heard a door in the room open as Ghouls began growling and walking down the corridor. They came up to my cell as I quickly backed away. "Hello boys how about you two just stay on that side of the cell and I'll mind my own business here okay?" I said. I then noticed that one of them had a key to the cell and began opening it. "Oh I thought you guys were to stupid to open a locked door." I said as they entered the room.

"Okay so I know that I've kicked your guy's butts alot and probably killed every one of the Ghouls I've come across, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends right?" I said as the two got too close for comfort. I then got into a fighting stance, "If I'm cracking these jokes I must've taken one hell of a beating." I said one of the Ghouls thrust their spear at me. I quickly spun around and wrapped my leg around the pole of the weapon. I turned my body as the weapon flew out of their hand. The other one quickly came up to me with a punch as I spun around the punch and kicked it in the back causing it to fall on it's comrade. I quickly made my escape out the door and when I did I used my foot to close the cell which automatically locked it. "Have fun in there fellas! Damn I didn't think that would work." I said with a chuckle. I noticed that the keys were in the door as I turned around and used my hands to pull the keys out. I then dropped the keys onto the ground and kicked them farther away. I then turned around to see a better look at the capsule in the cell.

"Yep no doubt about it. It's Maria. That bright liquid seems to be keeping her alive in there." The door at the end of the hallway began to close as I saw Makoto Fueki walk in and she brought DJ with her. DJ was wearing a black cape and a green hoodie shirt with black cargo pants. He had the same black and red outlined hand Wizard Driver on him as well.

"How did you like my little trick the other night?" Makoto said.

"I'm starting to remember now. You lured me into a trap with DJ being collapsed on the ground. Once I realized what was going on me and DJ had a small fight that ended with him having an opening to use his lightning spell on me. You chose him to be the bait because he's able to react to any attack 2 seconds quicker than most people. Not bad I'd say." I said to them.

"You're pretty cheeky right now considering you are tied up in those chains." Makoto said back to me.

"Why don't you tell me the reason why you've gone out of your way to kidnap me?" I said back.

"I'm going to cast a spell on the entire world. This spell has finally reached its final stages now that I have unlimited supply of mana. I've been working on this spell for the past 6 years now. The spell requires an extensive amount of mana to be used so I had to look for certain people who had high mana in them in order to use them as a sacrifice for the destruction of mankind. Everyone on this wretched earth, Gate or not, will be forced to become Phantoms." She said with a evil smile on her face.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're going to turn the entire world into Phantoms?!"

"Oh yes and I'll be bringing back all of the Phantoms you and Mark have killed in the past year. I will also be bringing back Phantoms that stem from the beginning of time. I will be the new God that rules over the Earth! You and the other mages here will be my glorious sacrifices to The Eclipse Spell!" Makoto laughed.

"Eclipse Spell?" I wondered.

"I have created five different pillars. Four of the Pillars will have you and your friends attached to them where you're mana will be drained completely. Your mana will then be transferred to the 5th pillar that will store up all of the mana taken and once it's been filled. I will use my new spell ring to cast the entire world into their very own damnation! Every thing I've done in the past 6 years all of the waiting has finally led up to this moment! But don't worry Travis when you and the other 3 mages dies, you guys will be reborn as the Phantoms that lie dormant in your belts and will all serve me as my new Generals." She said throwing her head back and laughing.

I tried to break the chains on me but was getting nowhere. "You're pretty sick you know that? Why would you want to end civilization just to rebuild a new one?" I asked.

"Because this world is cruel. You have people dying of diseases, fighting each other for such sick and petty ideals, torturing one another, human beings are just plagues that need to removed. With Phantoms I'll be able to create a more prosperous world, a world where there is none of this weakness you human beings have created. A more peaceful world where we don't have to fear death. I'm going to genocide the world and replace it with a more advanced life form, and this time my plan won't fail." She said with a serious look on her face at the end.

"This time?" I thought.

"It's time to go, in six hours I will have had Bahamut gathered enough ingredients to conspire a new magical stone that will give me just enough mana to cast the Eclipse Spell. We must get ready Travis." She said as she reached out her hand. The chains on me began moving around me as they quickly wrapped around my neck and began choking me until I fell to the ground and began blacking out.

"Shit...This isn't good..." I said.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

I walked through the door as Karina was at her mystic ball, "Anything?" I said to her.

"I can't get a good reading on him. The only thing I see is a cell but that's about it." She said as the ball went foggy.

"Okay so at least he's alive. A cell? he can't be at the cell where we fought Doppel." I thought.

"We can go check it out, but we'll have to wait until tonight. There's less people at the station and would be our best chance to get into the basement." Robin suggested.

"I still can't believe that there was an abandoned experimental cell underneath the police station this entire time." Shawn said biting his fingernails.

"I can assure you that we weren't aware of it. I think the lab was built way before the police station was built on top of it." Robin assured.

"I hope your right, being down there was really scary plus I looked at the map with how big it was, it covers most of the downtown area." Karina said.

Shawn turned on the TV as an emergency report came on, "Guys I think you need to see this." Shawn said with a fearful expression.

All of gathered around as a female news anchor was giving a statewide emergency broadcast.

"Five different towers have appeared in five different cities of Ohio. People have tried to gain access to the towers but are stopped by some force that keeps them out. Officials state that they can hear growling coming closer to the unmovable force as if guarding the giant pillars. We also have reports that at 4 of these pillars have someone attached to them but we can't make out who. The pillars emerged out of no where just 15 minutes ago in these cities: Bowling Green, Alliance, Columbus, Cleveland, and Dublin. The pillars appeared as if magically placed there and we are now getting reports of grey scarred monsters patrolling them."

We watched as people began running in fear of the monsters that had just appeared. "This is not good. unless you're a Gate you aren't able to see the Ghouls or Phantoms I thought?" I said to everyone.

"Unless these pillars have some kind of thing that allows people to see the monsters we've been fighting this entire time." Shawn said.

"But why now? Why show the monsters to the public?" Robin asked.

"Yeah if the public sees this then it would let us know what's going on and would cause Mark to go to them." Karina said. All of us then stopped as we all looked at each other.

"Do you think Wiseman is trying to end the Masked Riders now?" Shawn wondered.

"No I think there's something else going on here." Robin said with her suspicion. I was taking a better look at the different towers.

"Bowling Green's tower is to the north of us where the forest was, Dublin's tower is in the Scioto River, and the rest of the towers are outside the cities but still in their city limit's. Could Travis be at the one in Bowling Green?." I thought to myself.

"Guys! I know where Travis is! He's at the pillar in town! I have a clear vision of him!" Karina said. We all ran towards her as we looked over her shoulder to see Travis unconscious on the pillar.

"I'm going to go save him something is clearly wrong about all of this." I said as I began to run towards the door.

"Wait! Travis isn't the only one attached to a pillar! Maria, DJ, and Manuela are attached at different pillars as well!" Karina called out.

I stopped in my tracks as I pounded the wall in front of me, "I can't save them all at once. Damn it!" I said frustrated.

"Could we try and save Travis first and have him try to save the other three? We obviously can't choose between our friends!" Shawn said.

"Travis might not be in fighting condition. We don't know what's he's been through. I know the right move is to choose him, but I would feel that means we let our other close friends down because we put Travis above them." I said to them.

There was a knock at the door as I opened it to see four people standing at the door. The one standing in front looked alot like Travis as an adult.

He was wearing a red shirt with a red button down plaid shirt and black cargo's. The guy to his right was wearing blue jeans with blue colored goggles on his face and an Iron Maiden t-shirt with a blue long sleeve shirt underneath it. The guy was a dark brown skin guy with shaggy hair. Next to him was a young white kid, he was shorter than the rest of the people, probably about 4'11 and had faded blonde hair while wearing a yellow tank top with black shorts on. The guy in the back was wearing a black athletic shirt and black martial arts pants. He had a huge air of maturity around him with his faded blonde beard. He had his blonde hair combed to the side and a coffee bottle in his one hand. Each of these people had a silver bracelet on them with a different colored gemstone in the middle of it.

"Um can I help you guys?" I asked.

The one who looked like Travis spoke up, "Yes um is this where a guy named Travis Edge lives?" He asked. His voice sounded just like Travis's too.

"Yes? Who's asking?" I responded ready for a fight.

"Great then this will be alot easier on us. My name is Tobias Edge, and we are the Power Rangers." He said with a smile on his face.

I instinctively closed the door.

"Mark...Did they just say they were the Power Rangers?" Shawn asked.

"I'm a little weirded out right now. Are these the people Travis said he helped back in February?" I said as I opened the door again. "Yep they are still here." I said as I blinked a few times. The man in the back spoke up.

"Can we come in? We are here to pay back Travis for a favor he did for us a few months back." The man said.

"Uhh yeah come on in." I said still trying to make heads and tails of the situation.

Tobias stayed standing as his friends sat on the couch. Robin wouldn't stop staring at the man in black she looked like she was in love with the guy right off the bat. "Okay so before we get into this." Tobias said as he pointed at the man in blue, "That's Zachary Jackson, we call him Zach and he's the Blue Dino Thunder Ranger, next to him in the yellow is his best friend Xander West who is the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger, and that guy is our Sensei Brett Pappert, the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. Now that our introductions are in order let's get on to what's going on. I'm currently aware thanks to the portal that Travis left behind when he crossed into our world that you guys are going through something that involves pillars am I correct?" Tobias asked.

"Umm yeah" Karina responded.

"Great. I'm going to assume White Wizard is holding this to cause people to become Phantoms am I correct so far?"

"Ummm we actually don't know what's entirely going on." I said to him.

"How are you aware of everything going on?" Robin asked.

Tobias sighed as he took out his phone and pulled up a picture of a DVD box set that had Travis's Flame Style form riding his bike with explosions in the background. "Because where I'm from you guys a part of a Television Franchise known as Kamen Rider. Everything I need to know I've already seen play out. I'm going to assume that you guys have Power Rangers as a Television Franchise here as well but nothing on Kamen Riders am I correct?" He said.

"Yeah that sounds about right." Shawn said.

"Great that makes thing a lot easier. We are going to help you guys get Travis back and save the Mages attached to the pillars." Tobias said.

Brett got up and offered his two cents, "We are going to break out individually. Tobias will go save Travis, me and my team will go after the other Mages. We are going to try and bring them back and stop this from happening. In order to get to our destinations without drawing a lot of attention I've upgraded the Raptor Bikes to transform into mechanical velociraptor. They still have the cloaking device on them. They will move a lot faster than your normal bikes." He said to his students.

"Wait I'm still not able to follow. Why are you guys helping us out again?" I asked.

Zach stood up, "Travis saved uh...our...uh life." He said with a stuttering issue.

Xander stood up as well, "We had a huge fight with another Ranger that was trying to kill us. We weren't prepared as we thought we were. Travis showed up in time to save our lives and give us an advantage in the fight. We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for him." He said. I saw Tobias looked down at the ground as his leadership like atmosphere became more of something like depression. He even clenched his fist.

"Tobias are you okay?" I asked.

He relaxed his hands, "Yeah I'm okay. That day was just a rough one for me. Alright so where are the pillars located, I kinda want to beat something up right now." He said.

I grabbed a map of Ohio from the other side of the room and placed it down as I grabbed a pen and circled the cities where the pillars were located. "Here is where all the pillars are located. If Travis is tied up to one of them that probably means that our three friends are also tied up as well." I said to the Rangers.

"In the show Wiseman was using the pillars to cause an eclipse. This eclipse would drain the mana from the four sacrifices to cause everyone in the world to become Phantoms. He also did it in order to revive his daughter. Is this version of Wiseman trying to revive anyone that you know of?" Tobias asked.

"No there isn't...Actually there is. Wiseman is trying to not only create new Phantoms to rule over the world, but she's also trying to resurrect the Phantoms that have also been slain. I fought a clone of Wiseman the other day inside a barrier. This barrier had a dried up river which inside was a bunch of other people who have either been slain by Phantoms, or were Phantoms that had been slain by Travis and I, as well as past Beast Driver users. All of their bodies are preserved as if they are alive in a thing called the Gates Stream." I said to them.

"So it would seem that this Wiseman is trying to not only resurrect fallen comrades, but probably declare a war on you guys. If that's the case we need to head out. The Raptor Bikes will get us to these destinations in just minutes and I'm pretty sure each pillar is going to be heavily guarded by grunts. But the one that is super important will be guarded by the head honcho herself which would be the one in this town. Tobias you should go with Mark to free your otherworldly self, we will each go to the pillars and deal with things there." Brett suggested.

"Yeah. I think it's time we start moving. Mark you can hop on my bike with me, I know exactly where I need to go. This town might just be the same set up as mine and I've been living in Bowling Green for years so I know where everything is located." Tobias requested.

"Alright let's go. Wait, how are you guys going to be able to get into the barriers? They can only be broken into using a magical weapon?"

"Pfft I think we'll be okay. Power of the dinosaurs is greater than your magic." Xander chuckled.

"I hope so." I said as we all ran outside.

"Mark!" Karina called out to me.

"Yeah?"

"Please be safe. Please bring our friends home.." She said with a sad expression on her face.

"I'm planning on it. It's time we got our family back." I said with determination as we headed out.

I watched as Tobias's friends got on these sleek colored machines that had these white sharp teeth designs on the front of their bikes. There was a red, blue, and a yellow one. The black one was gold where the others had white on them. "Rangers if there is a barrier preventing us from entering try placing your morphers up against the barrier and allow your Zords to put in their power. They should be able to break through with their power. Xander and Zach you guys know your limits and your weaknesses. Xander you will be on your own, don't let fear hold you back in this fight. You've improved a long way since you've become a Ranger, keep that up. Zach, remember don't go in at full strength, you can still be a threat to your enemies if you disperse all of your energy in a conservative fashion." Brett said to them. He then looked at Tobias.

"Let me guess, you want me to try to maintain some self control in this fight?" He asked.

"You're different then Zach and Xander. You have a massive amount of power and have greatly improved since becoming the Red Ranger. With the kind of enemies you've told us that we are fighting I'd suggest maintaining some self control, but if the situation calls for it go all out. I trust that you can be able to know the difference." Brett said.

Tobias bowed in his seat as did the others, "Yes Sensei!" They all said together. Brett had a smile on his face.

"Okay team move out!" Tobias said as his team pressed a button that made them invisible to the human eye and began driving away.

"You guys seem like a real team huh?" I said looking down the road.

"They are more than just that. They are my greatest friends. Without them I wouldn't have been able to get this far in my life as a Power Ranger and as a person." He said as I hopped on the bike. Tobias pressed a button as we became invisible to everyone else and began speeding down the road.

We got back to the cornfield where I found the Gates Stream and it was now replaced with a barrier that took up most of the countryside. Unlike the last barrier I could see inside this one from the outside. "Where are the people? Wouldn't this be such a sight for them to see and gather?" Tobias asked.

"Look at the ground and road. There's footprints everywhere and skid marks. My only thought can be that there's a Phantom here or Ghouls." I said as I looked up to see the barrier wavering. Far into the barrier was the pillar and from the distance I could see Travis bound up and unconscious.

"We need to get in there and help him." Tobias suggested.

"Let me deal with the barrier. I think I can break it." I said as I placed my hand over my belt. The Mirage Magnum appeared into my hand. I slid the Hyper Ring on my finger. "Let's do this buddy." I said as I placed it into the Magnum Ring slot.

 **"Hyper! Magnum Strike!"**

I pulled back on the trigger as Chimera in gold mana came roaring out and viciously attacking the barrier. There was a sound of glass shattering and as pieces of the barrier fell to the ground an explosion was made. A wave of dirt and smoke flew past us as we put our hands up over our faces.

"Hey don't you think using that spell would greatly lower your mana? You don't want Chimera eating you." Tobias said out of concern.

"I beat Phoenix and absorbed his mana. So I can just rejuvenate when I get low." I said back.

"Oh that's...Interesting I guess." Tobias was surprised at my statement. We then looked up to hearing movement and saw about a dozen of Ghouls standing in our way. Tobias began walking in front of me. "You should go save Travis. Fighting these mooks will be easy." He said to me.

"Get me a distraction and I can slip by them while being invisible." I said as I slid on my Chameleo Ring.

"Heh it's going to be a spectacle." Tobias assured.

(Tobias's viewpoint)

I began walking a few steps more into the battlefield as the Ghouls began to advance towards me. I stuck out my left arm to my side as a bright gold shine formed around my Dino Gem Brace. A roar was made as a Mezodon red and gold face plate showed as my morpher. I pulled back on the morpher as another roar was made. I spread my legs shoulder apart. I raised my left arm in front of my shoulder and stretched my right arm outwards to my right side.

 **"Dinothunder! Rise Up!"**

I swung my arm in an arc as I kept two fingers close to the other and pressed the button on my morpher that closed the jaw. I jumped backwards and in mid jump gold pieces of my armor appeared. A yellow dino footprint appeared in my mid jump as well and the moment I moved through it the gold pieces began to attach to various places of my body and my red helmet with a black mouth appeared. There was gold fin like design on the sides of my helmet with a blue jewel in the forehead. My suit was primarily red with blue and gold claw marks on my arms and legs. The gold dino footprint on my chest had an extra triangle claw on the sides of the print. I had gold shoulder armor to help complete the look.

 **"Appear! Shield of Triumph!"**

A red shield with the forehead of my Mezodon dinosaur appeared in my hand with a blade in the middle of it. On the sides of the shield was black and hold horns and at the base of the shield was silver horns as part of the shield's design.

"Holy crap that looks alot cooler in person. Wait...Rise Up? Dino Thunder Red never said that in his series." Mark said surprised.

"Shouldn't you be leaving this to me?" I asked him.

"Oh yeah sorry we'll talk later hopefully." Mark said as he placed his ring in his belt.

 **"Chameleo!"**

Mark began to disappear as he began running past the ghouls.

The first ghoul ran up to me with a slash attack which I blocked with my shield. The other ghouls surrounded me in a circle. One came up to me and thrusted it's spear at me which I bent my body back to dodge and grabbed the spear with my free hand and tugged it towards me. I let go of the spear and kicked the ghoul into his friends. I gave attention to the other ghoul that I had blocked with my spear as I lowered my shield and grabbed his weapon before it hit me and tugged on that as I shield bashed the ghoul in it's face. The ghoul lost his grip on his spear as I spun around and threw the spear into one of his buddies. That ghoul exploded on impact and two others came at me with a pincer attack. I jumped spinning sideways into the air as they smashed into other and extracted my blade from the as it began glowing in a bright red color as I slashed the two in half with my sword. I grabbed one half of a ghoul and threw it up in the air before I shield bashed it towards his friends.

The ghouls knew they all needed to gang up on me which they started doing. "Wow you guys are so predictable." I said as I slid two fingers onto the bottom to top of my blade. A red spark formed around my blade and as soon as the ghouls were two steps close to me I spun my entire body in a circle.

 **"Triassic Storm!"**

The electricity on my blade created a red circle that formed around my body as it shot out and severed all of the ghouls in half. I noticed that there was one ghoul who was outside of the attack range and had picked up on Mark's presence. Before the ghouls exploded I did a rising sword attack as a red spark curved energy blade was sent flying towards the ghoul who got severed in two. That ghoul and the other ones around me exploded with the explosion unaffecting me at all. I had a tear run down my face as I remembered the terrible memory of the last time I used this power. "...Mom...Are you watching over me? Would you be happy with me..." I said as more ghouls were created from the ones I destroyed. I dried up my tears as I looked at all of them, "I was hoping this wouldn't be that easy. Come, allow me to deliver a swift death to all of you." I said as I put two hands on my weapon and brought it to my side.

(Mark's Viewpoint)

I ran up the hill as quickly as I could until I saw Makoto Fueki standing in front of Travis. Makoto had placed her hands on the obelisk as it began to glow a bright purple color. Travis was unconscious and then woke up as purple sparks started surging around his body and he began screaming in pain. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I demanded as I jumped into air and went to kick Makoto. Makoto grabbed my foot and slammed me onto the ground.

"Just because my monsters may fall for that trick doesn't mean I will." She said.

I got back up on my feet, "You will end this ritual right now." I said irritated.

"Give me one good reason why I should. Oh wait you can't." She replied.

"I don't have time for this. Either end this ritual or I'm ending it for you by force!" I said.

 **"Driver On!"**

My belt transformed as I slid on my Lion Ring.

"If you wish to challenge me I can assure you that I'm not like my clone in that barrier you fought. That clone was weak and I can assure you that I am not." She said as she scanned her ring.

 **"Driver On, now."**

"I'm going to beat you no matter what. I'm not losing anymore friends. I'm done watching the ones I love die. I won't have it anymore!" I said back to her.

I raised my hand with the Lion Ring up in the air as Makoto took one thumb and pressed down on one of her levers.

 **"Shaba Doobi Touch To Transform!"**

"Transform." She said.

"Henshin!" I said.

 **"Change, now."**

 **"SET! OPEN! L-I-O-N! LION!"**

I then ran at her with the both of us transformed with my Dice Saber in my hand. She raised her Hamel Cane and used it as a spear. She thrust her weapon at me and I spun in a circle with a right to left slash attack. She jumped over my head as she slashed my back with her weapon. She then kicked me as I stumbled forward and tried my best not to fall. I quickly turned around and upon doing so I spun the dice on my weapon.

 **"3! Saber Strike!"**

I sent out 3 lions that began to move towards her as she placed one of her spell rings into the Hamel Cane's ring holder and threw the weapon into the air afterwards.

 **"Copy."**

Twelve Hamel Cane's appeared around the original one as they all came soaring down at my lion's and myself. I reached for a ring and inserted it into the belt.

 **"Go! Dolphi! D-D-Dolphi!"**

A purple spell circle moved across my right shoulder as I jumped into the ground and avoided the attack and swam towards Makoto. I appeared out of the ground like a fish jumping out of water as I slashed at her with my blade. Makoto was caught off guard. "Travis isn't the only one who can now be more creative with his fighting." I said to her. She was taking a beating from my attack but I didn't see her get a new ring on.

 **"Explosion, now!"**

Multiple purple spell circles formed around her as an explosion was made and I got hit by one of the blasts. I was sent flying backwards and as I got back up she lifted her hand into the air as her Hamel Cane came back to her. I looked to my left as Travis's screams started to get louder. A purple beam of light shot up into the sky.

"No I can't be too late..." I said with a fearful expression.

"Cease your inevitable struggle Mark. Once that pillar is done Travis will die once more, but this time it will be permanent. In just ten minutes this world will become filled with people fighting back to hold the Phantoms in, including the ones that aren't even Gates. The new world is only ten minutes away and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"I'm not giving up. You said it will all be over in ten minutes? That's ten minutes I have to put an end to your plan." I said as I grabbed a new ring from my holder.

"You should give up Mark. Surrender, and if you do I'll bring back your loved one: The 96th Beast. I can bring Klarissa Wells back as a human for you. Remember how you saw her as your second mother? You loved her so much. She was the only one who understood all of the pain you went through. She was the only one who helped you heal after the deaths of your parents and the separation from Travis. With this Sabbath Ritual, I'll give her back to you." Makoto said to me.

Upon saying these words I stopped from putting my ring in. I began remembering her smile, the struggles we went through all those years, and how I watched her die protecting me. "Bring her back..." I said.

"Do you remember the reason why she died? It was because of you. If you had not acted so childish she wouldn't of had to die." Makoto said to me.

"How could I forget...She died because I didn't listen to her. She died because of me... That's the reason why I can't get over her death...It's why I picked up being the next Beast even though I knew the consequences of doing so. My guilt that I still carry to this day that it feels like sin..." I said as I began to feel the pain of the past chain me down.

"Wouldn't you like to let all of that pain finally be gone? I can do so if I bring her back." Makoto said as she began walking towards me with her hand stretched out.

I could never forgive what I had done, I didn't sleep for days after becoming Beast as I angst over what I had done. I hadn't felt like this in a long time as I felt like I was paralyzed by my own emotions. I tried so hard to forget as my hand slowly began to reach out subconsciously to Makoto's. "I want to say I'm sorry. I want to make up for my mistake. I want her back so much..." I mumbled.

"You can Mark. You just have to let Travis die." She said to me.

As I began remembering my times with her, I remembered the words Klarissa told me when I had dreamed of using magic to bring back my parents from the dead. We were sitting around a campfire late at night eating marshmallows.

"Mom, I want to bring back my parents with magic! I miss them so much." I said to her.

"You shouldn't think like that." She said to me.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I believe that people who have died should stay dead. They've already passed on. I can understand trying right when it happens, but it's been years. I don't see the point in bringing back the dead with magic. Especially magic. There's a spell that can bring back those that have died, but at the cost of another life. It's a forbidden spell amongst sorcerers. Tell me Mark, would you be happy knowing that you got your family back through magical means at the cost of taking another's life? You don't even know who's life you are taking but it could be someone's that also has loved ones. Would you think that trade would be fair? Could you honestly look at that person's loved ones dead in the eye and say it was worth it?"

"No I couldn't. I couldn't think of passing my pain I feel to someone else. I miss them so much, but I'm not selfish enough to want to put this burden on someone else." My younger self said.

"I will likely die someday. That's the fate of those who wear this belt. You don't get to live your life to the fullest because Chimera is always hungry. When I die because of that I would like to remain there. When I die I will gladly accept that it's time for me to move on. But I don't want to do so knowing that I haven't helped people be saved from these Phantoms. I want to leave my mark on the world. When that does happen Mark, can you promise me something?"

"Yeah what is it?"

"Leave me dead. No matter what happens. No matter what though i'll always be by your side watching over you. Death is natural to me regardless of how it comes. I've done a lot in my life and when it's time for me to go I'll go peacefully. Can you promise me to accept my wishes and move on growing up into the remarkable man I hope you will be?"

"Yeah I will. Its going to be hard but I'll become the man you've been raising me to be all these years! I'm going to make you proud!"

I held my fist out as Klarissa fist bumped me.

I was then brought back to my sense as I retracted my hand back to my side as I stood up.

"No." I said.

"What did you say?" Makoto said irritated.

"The dead deserve to stay dead. That's what I promised to Klarissa. Under no means should I bring her back, she said she was going to be content with where she would be. I made a promise to her, I might've been the one that got her killed and she might be upset with me because of that. But I'm not going to make her more upset with me reviving her! What's more I'm not going to give up the lives of DJ, Maria, Manuela, and my best friend Travis just to have her back! I wasn't selfish enough to want to give up a life to bring back one then and I won't be doing that now! I wasn't raised that way and I'm not going to turn into someone like that! I'll gladly accept the lives of the ones living and will fight to protect them! So you can keep that reviving my loved ones shit to yourself!" I said as I grabbed my Hyper Ring. "You can take that offer and shove it six feet into the damn ground ALONG WITH YOU!"

 **"HYPER! GO! HY-HY-HYPER!**

I raised my other arm as the yellow spell circle appeared behind me and I pointed my finger at my enemy, "It's lunchtime." I said as the circle phased through my body revealing my blue and gold form. Once the transformation was complete I clenched my fist and stuck my thumb out and then flipped it upside down.

"You pathetic fool! You'll pay for your insolence!" Makoto said to me.

She raised her cane over her chest as she placed a spell ring into it.

 **"Explosion."**

Her weapon then took a purple glow as she sped across the battlefield. I quickly threw my saber into my spell hand as the Mirage Magnum appeared in my transformation hand. I raised the gun to shoot at her that she quickly and effectively knocked away from her. I knew the gun would be better at close distance in this case as I ran towards her. I held my sword to my side as I raised it and attempted to slash at her. She twirled around in the air and kicked the weapon out of my hand I saw her bring back weapon at me as I ducked my entire body to completely dodge her attack. I raised my gun and unloaded as much as I could at her as she got hit and began stumbling back. She threw her weapon at me as I spun around it. Once it pierced the ground an explosion was made behind me as I got sent flying towards her. She grabbed me by the throat and knee'd me in the face before raising my body up and slamming me into the ground. She then took her foot and stomped on the back of my head and kicked the side of my head. I rolled over as her hand was extended out and the Hamel Cane zipping through the air back into her hand. It was still glowing purple. My vision was a bit blurry as blood was running in my eyes. Makoto raised the weapon over my face.

"It's over Primordial Mage. It's a shame that you choose death over living." She said to me.

Hahaha. Yeah I guess it is." I said to her. She went to finish me off but I had my tassels on my suit wrap themselves around her weapon preventing her from finishing me off.

"You can't win this fight Mark! I have a huge advantage of you with where I'm standing. You can't win!" She said as she added more of her strength behind her weapon.

"Oh I'm just doing this to buy some time." I said to her.

"What?" She said confused.

"Oh right while you've been sitting here chatting with me trying to convince me to join your side, I've been keeping you distracted long enough for a friend of mine to show up. I think I did a great job with my acting this entire time haven't I...Tobias." I said as Tobias stood in front of the pillar. He raised his fingers over his blade as red sparks began to wrap around the blade.

 **"Triassic Slash"**

He did an uppercut with the blade as the attack came soaring across the battlefield and hit Makoto spot on as she became wrapped in the red sparks. She had let go of her weapon as I kept my hold on it. She was violently shaking on the ground as the attack began to subside. You could see how damaged her form was as Tobias walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I know that only magic can stop her." He said.

"That's what this is for." I said as I put the Hamel Cane in my hand and tossed it directly at her.

The weapon landed a few feet from her as she was getting up off the ground and it exploded sending her flying through the air once more and being knocked out transformation. I then picked up my gun as Travis stopped screaming and noticed the pillar stopped producing the energy into the sky. A voice came on Tobias's morpher.

"Hey it's Xander! I got one of the people attached to the pillar off and destroyed it. Did we stop the Ritual in time?" He asked.

"What...NOO! I WAS ALMOST CLOSE! NOO!" Makoto said angrily.

Tobias ran to break Travis free, "I guess if you don't have all of your sacrifices attached during the Ritual it doesn't finish huh?"

"You survived this apocalypse but I promise you there won't be a next time!" She said as she got up and scanned a ring.

 **"Teleport, now"**

She then vanished as I reverted back to my human form. Tobias had reverted back to his human form and I noticed it was just weird to see Travis as an adult. "Hey I can't get the chains off." He said. I raised my gun and shot them off. We both then grabbed Travis and when we did the entire battlefield was reverted back to it's original state. Which was the countryside. "I guess the barrier had no more power to stay up." I said. "Here I'll fly Travis back home, you just meet up back at DJ's house." I said. Tobias then super sped off back to his bike. I then transformed and flew us both back.

Once back the Raptor Bikes were sitting outside the house and when I got in I saw everyone gathered around someone on the couch. Karina came and helped me put Travis on a couch across from the crowd. "Did we only get one of our friends back?" I asked Karina. She shook her head.

"It's not DJ or Manuela. It's Manuela's older sister Maria." She said.

I made my way over to see Maria in a black hoodie and black cargo's with the red hand belt wrapped around her. She had shining brown skin and long brunette hair that was radiant. She had a small nose and mouth.

"Do you think she will attack us?" Shawn asked.

"I don't think so." Xander replied.

"Why do you say that?" Robin asked.

"Well first one of the Ghouls sent an energy wave that severed her chains and the pillar in half which I'm guessing stopped the Ritual. At that moment I thought she was going to get crushed but had at last second got out of the way and then helped me wipe out all of the Ghouls. Once the threat was gone she reverted back and asked where Manuela was before she collapsed on the battlefield. That's when I messaged Tobias." He responded.

"What about DJ and Manuela?" I asked them.

"We both were uh fighting the Ghouls. By the time we got to them a woman appeared and grabbed them before vanishing." Zach said stuttering.

"She said something that this wasn't over but looked like she had her ass handed to her." Brett said.

"I guess we'll have to deal with this for now." I said.

Tobias and the other Rangers began to head towards the door. "I wish we could stay and help but we have to return and take care of Mesogog and his minions. I only wish I could've talked to Travis about something." Tobias said sadly.

'You guys are amazing I hope we all meet again sometime. Thanks for saving our world." Shawn said.

Tobias had a smile on his face and then looked at Robin, "You've been staring at me since I got back here. Is everything okay?" Tobias asked her.

"I uh just thought that maybe..Umm..." Robin was twirling her finger in her hair as she started having some red on her cheeks.

"Are you...Blushing?!" I said to her.

Robin grabbed a pillow and hit me upside the head with it. "Shut up Mark!" She said with a squeal of embarassment.

Tobias had a smile on his face as they all left and waved goodbye to us. We all watched them drive through a blue portal and vanished from our world. Shawn looked at Robin with a huge smile on his face. "Robin and Tobias sitting in a tre-Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Robin began attacking him with more pillows as she was embarrassed.

" I. DON'T. LIKE. HIM!" She said between each hit. She then made an excuse as she left the house with saying that she'll be back later. I helped Shawn put away the pillows.

"I think she has a crush on Tobias." I said with everyone agreeing with me.

Karina stayed by Travis's side waiting for him to get better and wake up that night. I cooked food for everyone and Shawn was trying to crack the safe for Travis thinking that it might be helpful since his friend was knocked out. Robin came back and apologized for her behavior and had gotten herself back together. We all hung out that night and went to bed early after our long day. We even watched the news about how all of the pillar's locations have vanished and how this was a major story for the rest of the night on all of the stations and leading into the next day.


	9. Secret of the Old Ring Maker

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I woke up feeling extremely rested as I looked around to see the lights were off and someone sleeping next to me. I reached my hand out to get a better look at the person. "Manuela?" I asked as the head turn over and there was blood all over her face. I quickly jumped out of the bed breathing heavily and terrified. I then looked around to see the house I was in was no longer there. I was in the middle of the yard with all of my friends dressed in white with blood all over them and in the middle of them was White Wizard.

"Soon I'll bring forth your greatest despair. I finally found your Achilles Heel Travis." White Wizard said as she picked up Karina off the ground. "The radiant colors she brought you will be ripped away from your world as I laugh while you're kneeling to the ground." White Wizard then dropped Karina's body onto the ground.

I felt someone shaking me as I woke up from the nightmare in a ferocious sweat and I saw Karina and Shawn trying to calm me down. I yelled out of fear as I broke out of their grip and ran a few feet from them. I was shaking violently as I was having a panic attack from the nightmare. "Shawn go get some water!" Karina commanded. Shawn ran to the kitchen as Karina flipped a switch on turning on the living room lights. She put one hand up to me as she spoke in a calm tone. "Travis it's okay. You're safe. You're at DJ's. Please bro, breathe and exhale. Everything is okay." She said to me.

She kept repeating this as she walked slowly to me. I started doing what she said as I started feeling calmer. She finally got close enough to me as she grabbed my shaking hands and gave me a hug. "I had a terrible nightmare. It felt so real and it really shook me." I said to her. Karina had me sit down as Shawn came into the room and handed me a water bottle.

"You've been through a lot man. I thought we weren't going to be able to get you back from the pillars." Shawn said.

"Pillars?" I asked.

"We'll explain later." Karina responded.

My mind began to be clearer and my body started calming down. I then noticed someone sleeping on the couch from the other side of the table. "Who's that?" I asked.

"It's Manuela's big sister. It's Maria." Shawn said.

"She was part of the Pillars. She apparently attacked the ghouls and collapsed. She hasn't waken up since. It's been almost two days since the incident." Karina said.

"I've been asleep for two days? That would explain how rested I feel." I said as I put the cup down on the table.

"Are you going to be okay or do you need someone to watch over you?" Karina asked.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm probably going to see if Mark is up and talk to him." I responded.

"Okay if you need us, we'll be here." Shawn said.

I watched as the two went up the stairs and left. I got up and walked over to Maria as I stared at her. "You might be her older sister, but you both almost look like twins." I said to her. "If you fought the ghouls, then does that mean the spell White Wizard had on you is broken?" I looked at my black jacket and put it on as I walked out into the yard and up to the giant yellow tent in the yard. I tapped the side of the tent as I noticed a light was on inside.

"Yo wassup!" Mark said as he unzipped his tent and saw me. "Oh hey Travis. Glad to see your up come on inside, it's a bit warmer in here than outside." He said as I crawled inside. Mark had a candle covered for light and a small black box that had an orange glow.

"Is that a heater?" I asked.

"Oh yeah it runs on battery that can be recharged. It's great for tents. How I survived during all those winters as a child." Mark said as he had a frown on his face.

"Didn't know they actually made those." I chuckled.

"Are you doing okay buddy? You had a lot of mana ripped out of your body." Mark asked.

"What happened to me?" I asked.

Mark explained about the pillars to me, he also explained how the Power Rangers that I helped earlier in the year came back to save me. They wanted to thank me as well as for helping the fight that the Rangers had gotten themselves into with the White Ranger. They weren't able to save Manuela or DJ. Plus Mark told me about his fight with White Wizard.

"They were a huge help. Tobias said he had something he wanted to talk to you about. It looked like something was eating him up. It even showed when he fought off a bunch of ghouls. But they left shortly after bringing you and Maria home." Mark said.

"I'm happy they did. Maybe one day I can repay them the favor. What about Maria? Has their been anything unusual with her at all?" I asked.

"No she's been out cold. I used healing magic on her but for some reason it wouldn't work on her. We've all kept tabs on her but that is about it. She's not made a noise or anything." He replied. "Hey want a plain sugar donut? I bought some in case you woke up and might be hungry." He handed me a couple in a bag as I started having that immense feeling of hunger. I began to eat them quickly as I wiped my mouth of the sugar.

"Damn. I didn't know how hungry I was going to be. What time is it?" I asked.

"It's about 5:55 AM."

"Great I'm going to go see Rachel for a bit. She should be opening up her store I can try and get fresh donuts before everyone takes them." I said as I exited the tent.

"Hey Travis!" Mark called out.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Be safe man. Also hurry on back, there's something we need to talk about. Robin brought it to my attention a few days ago and I think it's something worth checking out." Mark said.

"Sure. Oh do you want the apple cinnamon donut? I know those are your favorite." I asked.

"Damn you know me so well." Mark laughed.

I went to my bike and got on it as I drove down the lightly snow covered streets.

The cold air brushing against me had a calm and welcoming feeling. There was a lot on my mind as I thought about the pillars and how Maria broke through the spell on her. As I was driving into the night I saw a man with a blank expression standing on the side of the road just looking at me. He was a middle aged white male with a short spiked black hair and wearing a biker's outfit with no shirt underneath his jacket. He gave off a bad vibe as I sped up to pass him. As soon as I passed him I looked back to see him gone. It was almost as if he was never there. "Who was that guy?" I asked. As I looked forward again I saw the guy about ten feet from me. I quickly hit the brakes and turned my bike sideways as I stopped right in front of him. "Hey man are you trying to get yourself killed?" I asked. The man just stood there looking at me with a creepy expression. He looked at my bike and then me.

"Tell me. Do your eyes light up like crystals?" The man said with a really deep voice.

I quickly got off my bike as I scanned my ring.

" **Driver On, please."**

I'm taking it your a Phantom." I said as I slid my Infinity Ring on.

"Yes those are the eyes! The only pretty thing about you. I want your eyes!" The man said as he raised his right arm over his face and a purple mist appeared.

The Phantom transformed as a red insect like creature appeared. There was big red marks from the back of his head to his face, his legs and arms had grey blades sticking out. His legs and arms had these pink cell shaped markings and had this red insect antennae on it's forehead.

"Your blood coated in mana will be very sufficient for my master. The name is Bahamut and I'll be ripping the eyes out of your face." He said threateningly.

"Let's see you try it." I challenged as I flipped the levers on my belt.

I went to go scan my ring but Bahamut had already vanished from his spot as he appeared behind me. I turned around and saw him but didn't react enough as he grabbed my throat. "I didn't think he had super speed!" I thought as I tried to break free from his hold. He brought his hand closer to me face. I calmed my mind down as I raised my foot and kicked him in the chest hard enough for him to let me go. I fell to the ground breathing for air as I scanned my ring over the singing belt.

 **"Error."**

"What? Error?! Now of all times?" I wash shocked and then remembered I didn't have enough mana to go big. The Infinity Ring then disappeared from my finger as one of my Dragon Style Rings appeared in its place. I flipped the levers again.

 **"Water...Dragon! Bubble! Bubble! Bubble Crash!"**

My blue upgraded form appeared as the dragon clashed into my back. "Now it's showtime." I said to him.

"More like bed time for you." Bahamut said as he came running at me. He swung one of his arm blades at me as I turned to the side. He went to go kick at me but I caught his foot and open palmed it away from me. I reached my hand out as my swordgun appeared and I slashed at the monster. One of my attacks got blocked by his arm blade and I tried to move it away but he lifted his arm and applied a ton of force on my sword as he knocked it out of my hands. I grabbed my wrist as the pain spread across my hand.

"Just how much strength does this thing have?!" I wondered.

Bahamut super sped around the battlefield as he slashed at me with his arm blades in every direction before he jumped into the air and kicked me across the face. I spun a bit as I reached for one of my spell rings.

"Okay I'm done with your speed." I said as I flipped the levers and slid the ring on my finger.

 **"Very Nice! Blizzard! The Best!"**

My dragon tail raised up into the air and slammed into the ground in front of us as ice began forming all over the place and Bahamut slipped as he tried to move towards me. Once he hit the ground a blue spell circle appeared in front of me as I hit the back of it with my palm and all of the ice on the ground formed itself all over Bahamut's body freezing him in place. I had my tail stretch out and wrap around his frozen body as I lifted him up in the air and slammed the Phantom onto the ground shattering the ice. I got a look at him as the ice vanished and his body was still moving. He was fidgeting as he stood up but once he was back on his feet, it was as if I didn't damage him.

"Is that all you got Silver Eyed Magician? I've been told that you were stronger than that. I want a challenge if I'm going to take your eyes." Bahamut said to me.

"How the heck did that have very little effect on him?" I said as I felt my mana getting low.

"Are you done? Because I'm ready to take my turn." Bahamut said as his body began glowing a vivid red color.

"Not good." I said as he super sped to me. He almost made it to me until I heard a spell activate.

 **"Barrier, now."**

A green spell circle appeared in front of me as Bahamut ran right into it. Once he did a strong gust of wind emerged out of the circle with the strength of a heavy wind storm that sent him flying about twenty feet from me. The circle vanished as DJ transformed walked up behind him. He reverted back to his human form as he was wearing a black hooded cloak that covered his entire body. Bahamut transformed back to his human form as he got up and grabbed DJ by his cloak.

"What the hell Gale!? Why are you getting in my way!?" Bahamut asked.

DJ then grabbed Bahamut's wrists and twisted one of his arms as his tendons began to snap. "You are only allowed to kill people who aren't Gates when it comes to your sick games. You had orders from Master Wiseman. Consider this a warning." DJ said as he tossed Bahamut to the side.

"Argh! My arm! It's hard to move my arm!" Bahamut said screaming in pain.

DJ then looked at me, "Travis, save up your energy because tonight I'll be coming back to take back what belongs to my master. Flare will be ours again. For my master has her soul. She will never wake up until her soul is back inside her body." He said as he scanned a ring over his belt.

 **"Teleport, now."**

A green gust formed around DJ and Bahamut as they vanished and I was left alone in the middle of the cold dark road again. I reverted back to my human self. "I need to let the guys know about this. Plus I don't have a lot of mana, I should just go back home and eat something." I got back on my bike and road on back to the house.

(Makoto's Viewpoint)

I saw Gale appear in front of me with Bahamut's arm in a painful state as he was holding it while moaning in pain. "Bahamut, grow up. I didn't give you all of this power just for you to wimp out over a little bit of pain." I said as I grabbed his wrist and had my mana heal his injuries.

"Your Masked Rider here stopped me from killing the Silver-Eyed Magician. He stopped me from getting my hands on his beautiful eyes." Bahamut said while looking at DJ with an anguish expression.

"Bahamut, leave us. Resume your hunt on the Non-Gates, but leave Travis out of it for now. If Travis does happen to get involved in your hunt, bring him to me alive, but not in fighting condition." I demanded. Bahamut sped out of the room as I looked at Gale. "Why did you protect Travis? Don't tell me you still care for the child? I thought when I placed my spell on you that you would get rid of the feelings you had for him? So explain to me why you went out of your way to protect him." I asked while walking in circles around him.

"I didn't save him out of care Master. I did so because I feel like the mana he has stored in him could be useful to our cause. To be completely honest, aren't you creating those new rings? You know you're going to have to have a massive amount of mana to complete them in such a short amount of time." Gale said as he looked straight into my eyes.

"Ha. So you have redeemed yourself with wise words." I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"If you'd like I will bring him here myself tomorrow evening. I'm able to predict attacks two seconds before they happen. This makes me a better fighter than him. He isn't smart enough to see my trick. I bring him here begging for mercy on his feet and you sap the rest of his life force and mana from his body and that should give you enough mana to finish your rings." Gale responded.

"Yes that would be nice. Fighting him now as I am I would surely lose, it wasn't in the cards that he would gain Infinity Style. Your prediction said he'd only go up to All Dragon. How he was able to change his own fate without knowing it is surprising and something I shouldn't overlook or underestimate. I have a substantial enough mana from the pillars. Also I have the Soul of Flare with me that I can use. Without the Soul, little Maria won't wake up from her slumber. I will still purge this world into darkness and force every single living and dead human to become Phantoms. Go to your capsule and rest Gale. You have work to do tomorrow."

Gale bowed down to me as he turned around and walked away. I kept my eye on him as he exited the room. "He is pretty clever considering he's under my control. Is my spell breaking on him? I guess I will find out when this fight comes to pass. I will personally be there to watch it myself. I don't have much to worry about, if Travis beats Gale and or finds some way to break the spell, he won't have all of his precious friend back. Well not his soul anyway." I said as I looked at a green rune in my hand glow. A smile was spread on my face as everything I have planned on began falling into place.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

The fight had pretty much drained me of my energy to stay awake. I went back home to find everyone including Mark was passed out. I went to my room where I laid in my bed and as tired as I was I couldn't fall asleep. I was remembering how DJ defended me against Bahamut. "If DJ was working for Wiseman, wouldn't it have been better for him to let me get knocked out of transformation? Something about that fight just didn't seem right. Also what was up with Bahamut? not a single one of my attacks did any damage to him. It almost felt like I was just a bug." Alot of thoughts were running through my mind and while I was busy thinking about them I didn't realize I had fallen asleep.

I slept through most of the day and during my sleep I had a dream about Manuela, DJ and I all hanging out playing board games in the living room. It was a nice and tender moment and had felt so real. Us just laughing and goofing off, DJ and I cracking jokes at each other, Manuela making funny faces as she would start losing in the game. It was a moment that I wished would come true, a moment that put a smile on my face. I didn't know that I was moving all over in my bed and my happy dream was completely gone when I rolled off my bed and onto the floor. "AGH! Damn that hurt. It sucks that I keep falling on the floor." I said as the light from the sun was going into my half opened eyes. I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Hey Travis it's Shawn, you alright? I heard a loud noise." He asked.

"Yeah I just rolled out of my bed. What time is it?" I asked as I tried to stand up.

"It's almost four in the afternoon. I was coming up to get you. We have a visitor in the living room. Said he was a close friend of DJ's and is wanting to talk to you." Shawn said.

"Okay give me a sec and I'll be right down." I told him.

I heard Shawn walk down the hall as I moved over to my dresser and grabbed a black hooded shirt with red stripes on the sleeves and black cargo pants. I went into the bathroom as I started undressing to take a shower. I had taken my shirt off as I saw a giant scar about as big as my arm on the right side of my stomach. "Manuela had a hard time whenever she saw me with my shirt off because of this hideous scar. I'm pretty sure she still blames herself to this day for me getting it." I said. I had run my hand over the scar as I was reminded of when I fell for Medusa's tricks and ended up hung by a chain in that old factory where Phoenix's sword pierced my stomach. I had to convince Manuela a lot that I didn't blame her for having me get put through all of that and that I no longer held any ill will towards her. "My entire time of being a Masked Rider has been one hell of a ride. I'm going to keep fighting and getting better so other's don't have to go through what I did. Nobody should have to go through something like this, and soon I'm going to end this nightmare." I quickly got in and took my shower, dried up, and got dressed as I slid my Driver On Ring and grabbed my dirty clothes and put them in the bin in the bathroom. I walked downstairs and into the living room to see one of the court house judges sitting in the living room holding a yellow letter sized envelope in his hand.

The judge was wearing an all black outfit with a white collar. He was black man with a bald head and glasses, he was a bulky looking guy and had a deep voice when he spoke. "Hello you must be Travis. DJ's told me a lot about you. I'm Matthew Hanes, I am one of the court house judges for Bowling Green." He said with an air of maturity.

"Um hi. To what do I owe a visit from you? Am I in trouble?" I asked.

"No you are not. I'm here because I had received a letter at my work place that was time stamped for today. In this letter there were two things, one was a detailed letter to me on instructions of stopping by here, and the second is for me to drop off the rest of the contents in this envelope to you. Now I'm aware of who you are Travis. I'm one of the very few people who knows exactly who you are and what you are doing. I know this because DJ filled me in prior to his death."

Shawn, Karina, and Mark were all standing in the room and they had a confused look on their faces to what they had heard.

"Wait so you know about the Phantoms?" Karina asked.

"Yes. I also know that we are dealing with forces that us human beings can not be able to fight back against. DJ was pretty clear about that with me. I've been keeping a pretty close eye on DJ since the death of your parents Travis. I also know that someone has been trying to gain access into the safe that lies within DJ's study." Matthew said.

"Wait how do you know that?" I asked surprised.

"A few months ago, DJ came to me prior to Vanity's resurrection. DJ had a black magical stone he had gotten after he lost Makoto and Dustin to the Phantoms that started this entire thing. As you guys have probably found out, the black stone grants it's user an insane amount of power, but every time the black stone is used, the stone slowly starts to eat away at itself. Once the stone is gone, the user can no longer use magic. With this in mind, the day before Vanity's resurrection DJ came to me and showed me a bit of the future as well as the past. I was given knowledge about everything he's been trying to do for the past six years to help put an end to the Phantoms. He even told me that one day in the future, you Travis, would find a great secret about DJ and when that time comes, DJ will have sent me a time stamped envelope giving me specific instructions to show up here and explain everything to you. Once you open that safe you might struggle to understand some things and that's where I come in to help with some clarity." He said to me.

Matthew handed me the envelope as I opened it up and pulled out a note card with the number "2-0-1-1."

"Wait 2011? That's the year my parents were killed." I said to him.

I quickly bolted for the tiny workshop in the corner of the living room as I got under the desk and slowly punched in each number. On the last number I heard a clunk noise and I slowly grabbed the lever and opened it up. Inside was another yellow envelope and it was packed with a lot of papers inside it. I grabbed the envelope and walked back into the living room. I opened up the flap as I pulled out the stack of papers. My eyes widened and my my senses stopped working as I started flipping through the papers. I saw my friends run up to me saying my name but I was in to much shock to what I was reading on the official court documents.

"Travis what's wrong?!" Shawn said.

"Bro are you okay? You're crying." Karina said to me.

Mark grabbed the papers out of my hand as I didn't respond back to anyone. I knew they were talking but I just couldn't process it. My hands were still in the position as if they were holding something. "This can't be real..." Mark said. Shawn and Karina ran over to Mark as they saw the Guardianship paperwork.

I just noticed the tears that were running down my face as the image of everything DJ has done for me over the past 4 years since my parent's death.

"It all makes sense now." I said as I began wiping my face. "Everything makes sense now...DJ wasn't just my friend...It's not just coincidence that he came into my life...He's been here all along...He was close friends with my parents...And before their deaths he became...became...He became my Godfather..." I said as I fell to my knees and began letting out all of my sad emotions that overwhelmed me.

The paper work was approved by Matthew Hanes one month prior to Minotauros ramming my parents off the bridge. With that knowledge, every good memory and bad memory I had of DJ overwhelmed me. His sacrifice against Vanity to protect Mark was hitting me hard once more. All three of my friends were standing around me giving me comfort as I tried to process everything in my head. Matthew had walked up to me and bent down to my level as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Why? Why didn't he tell me?" I said sniffling.

"DJ was a man who kept his own secrets from everyone. He did confide in me that one day he would die protecting the one thing that gave him the strength to keep fighting after the death of his close friend and would've been fiance. He found that through all of you. DJ did have one dark side about you becoming Wizard that he confided in a very few people. DJ's sacrifice could've been avoided. He had two choices that he could've taken and both avoided his death entirely. One of them was to raise you Travis to be the strongest fighter against the Phantoms, you would one day be strong enough to end the nightmare the world is facing right now, but it would be at the cost of your own life." Matthew said.

"Wait so DJ was just raising Travis so he could slaughter all of the Phantoms at the cost of him dying?!" Karina said irritated.

"Yes. Why do you think DJ didn't partake in a lot of activities that would have him bond with you guys? He didn't want to get attached again with people he would love only to lose them all over again."

"But DJ was there with us during the Christmas celebration at the park last year. He had never attended one with us, the last few months we had with him he would hang out with us more. We got to see a side of DJ that we never saw." Mark said sadly.

"DJ explained to me about his sacrifice he was going to make. On the day of his sacrifice, you Mark were supposed to die. Upon doing so, Travis would break and have complete control over the demon inside his belt. With this power of self control, Travis would have full control over All Dragon and tap into the true powers that form contains. With it he would wipe out all of the Phantoms that exist all over the world as well as destroying Wiseman. Not a single Phantom would stand a chance against Travis's ferocity. Travis would sell his entire being and soul to kill the Phantoms, but upon doing so Travis would fade away." Matthew said with a depressed expression.

"Did DJ know anything about him getting Infinity? His power doesn't stop at All Dragon." Shawn said.

"I'll be perfectly honest, nobody even DJ knew about Travis getting this power." Matthew said with a shocked expression.

"Yeah Infinity Style is a ring that uses my own mana. It's my own power, not Dragon's. It was also a final gift from my dead parents. With it I destroyed Vanity and I can tell every time I use it, I'm a lot more powerful than I have ever been." I said to him.

"Wait so why did DJ jump in and protect Mark from dying?" Karina asked.

Matthew took a deep breath before he spoke, "It's like I said before. DJ found a new hope with you guys. Since the death of Makoto and Austin, DJ had not been the same as he used too. He became a bit more of a cold and shallow person. Around people who knew him, he was the same, but to those who didn't know him, they would've never guessed him to be a decent guy. He was struggling with surviving and the only thing running through his mind was the loss of his loved ones. Even his mother who had become Vanity. I don't blame the guy, he lost 3 of his most valued life treasures and had to watch it all get taken away from him. But through you guys DJ found his old self. You're guys's determination to end the Phantoms and the struggles you've each been through gave him a sense of belonging. Over time he found himself getting attached to you guys as if you were his family. He may have raised you to be a sacrificial lamb Travis, but before that fateful day, he saw you as a son he wished he had. He saw all of you as his family. So when Vanity attacked and was going to kill Mark, he acted and took Mark's place. DJ said that him doing this he could no longer see what the future holds. But he only hoped that it would be a lot brighter than what it was originally intended to be." Matthew said with a tear down his face.

"DJ is still alive." I said to him.

"He's a puppet for Wiseman right now. The girl on that couch over there was one of his puppets too. But we can't find anyway to wake her up. We think she broke the spell that was over her. We also have another one who's under Wiseman's spell as well. We are trying to find ways to break the spells and bring them home to us." Mark said.

Matthew had a few tears of joy as he heard this news, "I hope he can come back...This city misses the DJ that made this town smile." He said as he pulled out a cloth and began wiping his face. Matthew then took out a business card and handed it to me. "If you ever need someone to talk to or need anything, I will do what I can to help you. All you have to do is call." He said.

I reached out and grabbed the card, "Thank you Matthew. I think I know a way on how to break DJ from that spell. You've been a great help." I said to him.

We all escorted Matthew to the front door as he got ready to leave. Matthew had a black fedora handing on the coat hanger and as he put it on he looked back at all of us. "Travis, you have a good group of friends here. Moving forward know that they are always here for you. This isn't just your fight anymore. It's everyone that is close to you. I will agree with DJ, you have come along way from when you first stepped in this house. Don't ever change and keep growing stronger." Matthew said with a smile on his face.

A smile was placed on my face, "Thank you Matthew and don't worry I don't plan on dying at the end of all of this. I promised too many people that I will become their hope. I can't do that if I'm dead." I said to him.

"Good man." He said as he walked out of the house.

As he walked out I had a breath of fresh air move through me, and with knowing about DJ and who he is to me. I became even more positive that I was going to get him back.


	10. Enemies and Allies

(Makoto's Viewpoint)

I had summoned Gale to my side as well as Bahamut, "Change of plans. I want Travis brought to me now." I said.

"Wait why now? We still have time until we were to strike." Gale said to me.

"If I didn't know any better it almost seems like you don't want to fight him?" I said as I raised my hand to show a green lit insignia on my palm. "I want you to remember that I have your soul in this rune. That means I have complete control over your actions. So tell me how you have the nerve to question me Gale." I said.

Gale backed down as I leered at him, "Master I would think that it would be best if I go. Travis can't fight against my speed and strength. Even if the Primordial Mage steps in I can easily still break the two." Bahamut said as he licked his claws.

"No I have assigned the both of you to this mission. Bahamut you may leave, I need to talk to Gale alone. Once I'm done strike at the mages, but I want the Primordial Mage's belt brought to me. Keep Travis alive, but make sure he can't fight anymore. I still need his mana to finish my final ring. Soon I'll have a power that outrivals Travis's Infinity Style."

"Roger." Bahamut said as he walked out.

"Gale, you should not have any emotions for what happens to Travis and his friends. All of that was sucked into the rune that contains your soul. Through the use of the moon stone and the sacrifices of countless lives I was able to create dark Phantoms inside you, Aqua, and Flare that obey me. I did that so you guys couldn't turn on me with your soul's intact. Maybe it's the fact that you didn't die when I ripped your soul out like Aqua and Flare were. Aqua who's neck was snapped from All Dragon, and Flare who died because of Kamaitachi. Those two never once fought back against me, but you who's soul was still intact have. Let me tell you something DJ, if you betray me out on that battlefield, I'll make sure you end up the same way as Flare is right now. An empty shell with her soul to be used as I wish. Do I make myself clear?" I said as I grabbed his throat.

"Yes Master. I'll make sure Travis is brought to you with his legs broken." Gale said with hesitation and fear.

"Then why are you still here?" I asked as I let him go.

DJ began walking away from me and as he had his back turned to me I saw a rune that I planted on him. "A little security for me in case you try to turn on me. Something isn't right and I'm going to find out what." I said under my breath as I teleported away.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I was scarfing down a bunch of food as I was trying to get my mana back and it was helping out a lot. "Who would believe that food would replenish my mana." I thought. Karina came into the living room as I placed some of the Chinese food I had down on the table.

"Hey bro. you feeling any better?" She asked.

"I don't have all of my strength back yet but I have a good chunk of it. I'm still a bit tired so I'll probably go to bed early tonight." I responded. Karina looked at Maria on the couch as she went over and fixed her blanket.

"Do you think we'll be able to get her to wake up again?" She said worried.

"I'm sure we will. I was thinking of trying to have Robin, Mark, the Plamonsters, and I to go on a search in the town to find DJ and Manuela once all of my strength is back. I've also made a decision that once my strength is back and we have our friends back, I'm taking the fight to Wiseman." I said with conviction.

"Wait?! You sure you will be able to fight her off?" Karina asked surprised.

"I guess I'll figure that out when it happens. I know that the longer she's around the more problems we are going to have. I'm going to go right to the source of all this mess. I also remember what she said to me when my mana got sealed. I'm a threat to her, and that means that I'm stronger than her. Plus you heard what DJ's friend said the other day, nobody expected me to get Infinity Style. I was to stop at All Dragon. Putting those two things together tells me I have a great advantage." I explained.

"Every single one of us will back you up. Just know when you go into that fight no matter what happens, we are all right here beside you." She assured.

"I won't forget, ever." I said to her.

"Do you know where Mark and the others are?" Karina asked.

"Something about trying out this Japanese restaurant that opened up in Perrysburg. I would've gone but I didn't have the strength to really want to move around much at the time. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"Hey remember when I was able to bring Mark back to life from Medusa's power?" Karina asked.

"Yeah I've been looking into that. I can't find anything on how that can make a lick of sense." I said.

"Well umm I think I know what's going on." Karina was wearing a long pink sleeved shirt and she lifted up a sleeve as I saw a cut on her arm. "I didn't harm myself I was in the kitchen doing dishes and one of the plates had a chip on it. But when I looked at my wound I wasn't bleeding. What was worse is it looked like what's underneath my skin is a piece of rock similar to the magical stones."

I quickly got a better look at her arm as I began remembering what Wiseman had said to me, "What if the Please Ring and my mana is turning you into a magical stone? She said I needed to give you mana daily to keep you alive." I was shocked to hear the new information given to me as many questions began running through my head.

"Bro…Am I a monster. I have to live off of your mana, and at times I don't feel like I'm even human anymore. Humans don't just revive their friend from the dead, and the other day I broke something in my room and as I picked it up it started fixing itself together. If I can do that, does that mean I could hurt people with this power? I don't have any control over it and it scares me."

"No. You're not a monster. You're going to be okay we are going to figure this out. I had thought this entire time you needed my mana to live but I didn't think anything of what could be going on until the day Medusa attacked. You're human just like the rest of us." I said to her.

She began sobbing, "All I wanted was just live a normal life, I don't want this power inside me. I don't know how to deal with it and it scares me. I know to others it's a great thing but this just terrifies me. I was able to deal with living with the mana but I didn't think it all the way through." She said as she began sobbing. She gave me a hug as she cried harder, "I just want to be normal again. I don't want this anymore…" I wrapped my arm around her as I let her get it out.

"I'm going to find a way to fix this. I'm sure there is a way to fix this." I said as she began to let go of me.

There was a sudden knock at the door as I went to go answer it. I unlocked the door and swung it open as I saw someone that looked like Bahamut's human form. "Hello Silver Eyes!" He said with a snarl. He grabbed my throat as he lifted me up into the air.

"TRAVIS!" Karina yelled out as Bahamut spun around and threw me out into the yard.

I rolled on my side as Bahamut turned around to go after Karina. One of my Plamonster rings appeared on my finger as I scanned it.

"Garuda, please!"

Garuda quickly put itself together as I placed the ring in the holder, "Distract that man!" I commanded.

Garuda quickly flew towards Bahamut as it smashed into the back of its head.

I quickly got another Plamonster ring and scanned that as well.

"Kraken, please!"

I instructed Kraken to do the same as he flew off and the two began fending off Bahamut. "Karina run and hide! This isn't a normal Phantom! Call Mark!" I instructed. Hoping I was loud enough for her to hear me I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Infinity Ring and Driver On Ring. "This fight won't be like last time." I said.

"Driver On, please."

Bahamut punched my two Familiars to the side as he faced me with a slash across his cheek from my monsters, "To think I would be hurt by such small cockroaches." He said irritated. "I'm going to make you have more than just a broken leg Mage. Once I've obtained your eyes my collection of human flesh will be complete." Bahamut said as he transformed into his Phantom self.

"I'd love to see you try and break me." I said as I raised my finger up and slid my ring on it. I flipped the levers as the belt activated.

"Sha Ba Doobie Touch to Transform!"

"INFINITY! PLEASE! Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"

A crystal dragon shot out of my belt as it quickly spun in circles around me and crashed into me revealing my ultimate form. "I am the final hope." I said as the Axecalibur formed in my hands.

"Nice catchphrase, because once I break you, there won't be any hope left in the world." Bahamut said as he tapped into his super speed. I tapped into my speed as we began zooming across the whole yard slashing at each other. We were leaving marks in the ground between each blow. He zipped behind me as he kicked my back causing me to stumble forward. I quickly stood still as my barrier formed around me stopping his punch attack. "An impenetrable barrier?!" He said surprised.

I raised my foot and kicked him in his chest as I zoomed behind him and slashed at his back with the sword and then changed my grip as I did a rising cut with the axe. I then sped in front of him as I slashed across his chest with the axe blade. I then jumped into the air as I pressed on the black hand.

"High Touch! Shining Plasma Strike!"

"Eat this!" I said as I raised my weapon into the air and made it bigger. Bahamut looked up with a chuckle as I slammed the weapon down onto him. He holds up one hand into the air as he caught the giant axe and didn't even flinch. I put all of my weight behind the attack but he didn't even move an inch on his body as he began laughing.

"Hahahaha if this is how strong you are then taking your eyes will be a cinch." He said.

"Why is it…Not cutting…Through!?" I said trying my hardest to slice through his hand.

Bahamut finally got a good enough grip as he flicked his wrist causing the weapon to get sent flying away from us. He then had his blades on his arms give off a red energy glow. "Let's see how you like this Wizard." He then tapped into his super speed as his glowing blades slashed across different parts of my body. He was zipping across different angles of my body without giving me any time to move an inch or get my barrier. Once he was done he jumped into the air and slashed down the middle of my chest with the glowing blade releasing an energy curve that left his body and pushing me farther away from him. Once I was about ten feet from him the curved energy blade caused an explosion around me as I slowly fell to my knees. I was having a hard time registering all of the pain from his attack as I stared at him.

"This is nothing…I've dealt with worse pain than this before…" I said to myself.

"Then why are you kneeling to me on the ground like the weakling you are?" Bahamut chuckled.

"Because you guys seem to have me so figured out, you can dish out the strongest attack you have and I'll fall. But no more, in fact you played right into my trap." I said as I flipped the levers on my belt and scanned a spell ring.

"Alakazam, please!"

Bahamut tried to make a move towards me and I raised my hands up as the snow on the ground melted and swarmed around him. I clenched my fist as the water turned into ice. I then scanned my transformation ring.

"Infinity!"

I quickly sped over to my weapon as I picked it up. Bahamut broke free from the ice as he sped towards me. I quickly took my spell ring hand and stretched it out towards him as a wall of ice appeared in front of me giving me enough time to scan another ring.

"Copy, please."

Bahamut smashed through the wall with ease as his right arm glowed bright red and impaled what he thought was me. My clone took the hit as multiple other clones appeared around him.

"Try and find the real one of me." All of us said to him.

I created about twenty different clones forming a circle around him. A few of my clones began scanning their own rings.

"Very Nice, Kick Strike!"

Five of them jumped up into the air as they came kicking him while two scanned a different ring.

"Bind, please"

Spell circles appeared around Bahamut as chains made of diamonds and crystals greatly wrapped around him preventing him from moving. Five of the others scanned a ring to keep with the attack.

"Drill, please."

Two clones jumped backwards into the air as they began spiraling towards Bahamut. While the others scanned a ring to help out those going towards him.

"Extend, please."

Silver spell circles appeared in the path of the other Wizard's as they began zooming in random directions like something you see in an anime as they began doing a relentless attack on Bahamut. Their bodies moved freely as they all began spiraling across the battlefield giving Bahamut no room to fight back. Once the attack was all over and the Wizard's vanished, I came running towards Bahamut who was struggling to stand up from having suffered my assault as I tapped the black hand on my Axecalibur multiple times.

"Hi-Hi-High Touch! Shining Plasma Strike! Sparkling! Sparkling! Sparkling!"

My weapon became massive as it hovered above my hand. I spun my body as the axe slashed across Bahamut's chest. Once I had done a full spin I did a rising slash motion with my body as my weapon uppercut Bahamut into the air. I then jumped up into the air a bit higher than him as my axe was hanging above my head, "How can you be so strong? I broke your spirit, I did everything that every other Phantom has done to you. I made you kneel to the ground. You can't possibly have this much power in such a short amount of time, this resolve even!" Bahamut said with his hand stretched out.

"It's called growing up. I'm not letting you guys hurt this world anymore. I've become a stronger human being and if I plan on destroying Wiseman I need to stop letting life get me down and stand back up and fight. I WILL BE THIS WORLD'S HOPE!" I roared as I slammed the axe into Bahamut's chest as we came soaring down towards the ground.

"GYAAAHHHHH!" Bahamut roared. Once he hit the ground a giant explosion was made and there was not a single piece of him left afterwards. My axe was stuck into the ground as the fire that was around me began to fade due to the cold and snow. I was still transformed and breathing heavily as I had put a lot of my mana into that entire combo.

I slowly pulled out my weapon from the ground, "Damn I could really use some food right now." I said under my breath. I looked up at Karina who was standing in the door way. "Are you okay sis?" I called out to her.

"Yeah I am bro. Are you okay?" She asked me.

"I just need to collect my breath…" I said with a chuckle.

I heard a slow clap from behind me as I quickly turned around and saw DJ walking towards me.

"Congratulations Travis. You really have grown more. I have to say I'm proud of you." DJ said as he slid on his transformation ring.

"Oh great." I said feeling drained.

"Why don't you show me this new resolve you have against me?" He said as he activated his belt.

"Driver on, now."

"Transform." DJ said.

"Change, now."

A green spell circle appeared next to him as it moved through him revealing his form. His one hand had his giant green claw. "If I have to fight you I will." I said to him.

DJ used his wind ability to give him a speed burst towards me. He swung his claw as I spun around him as I knife hand the back of his neck. That move didn't make him stumble as I kicked the back of his leg but he quickly used the wind to circle into the air behind me. He slashed down at me as I placed the Axecalbur behind my back to stop his attack from hitting me. "DJ I need you to wake up! We all are waiting for you to come back home! I'm going to bring you back even if that means I have to knock you out of transformation!" I said to him.

"Do you really think I want to hurt you…?" DJ said to me.

"Wait, what?" I said surprised.

DJ then used his claw to have him flip over me as he slashed down my chest with his claw. He then roundhouse kicked me sending me flying backwards. His claw then disappeared as a ring appeared in it's place. He then flipped the levers.

"Gale Stream, now."

A green spell circle appeared as a dragon made of wind came roaring towards me. I quickly scanned a ring to protect myself.

"Defend, please."

I raised my hand up into the air as a silver spell circle appeared taking the attack for me. The dragon was extremely strong as I began getting pushed back from his attack. "Damn he's really pouring a lot of his power into this one. This wasn't as strong as it was before." I said struggling to keep my feet rooted.

I then inverted my grip on my Axecalibur as I used the sword to slice at the back of my Defend spell. The spell began making its way towards DJ. I then placed my hand over my belt as my swordgun appeared. I pulled back on the thumb while my weapon was in gun mode. "We are going to put some force behind my spell and we'll see how you can handle that." I said.

"C'mon Shake and Shoot Hands!"

"Infinity! Shooting Strike! Sparkling! Sparkling! Sparkling!"

I raised my gun up aiming at the center of my spell as I pulled on the trigger and a beam of different crystals coated in my mana soared across the battlefield. My spell hit behind my other one as it began pushing it back causing all of the spells to swarm around DJ as he screamed in pain from the attack.

The explosion dissipated as DJ was on the ground clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. Surrounding around him were crystals from my attack. "Uggghh. That stings." He groaned.

I walked towards him with my gun pointed at him, "It's over DJ." I said breathing a bit heavy. "I've really pushed myself. I'm not fully recovered and now I'm feeling like crap. I hope there isn't any more surprises." I thought to myself.

DJ reverted back to his human form as he rolled up his sleeves and lifted his underarm, I could see a black stone as tiny as it was implanted in his skin, "It's okay Travis. It's been me this whole time." He said.

"The black stone?" I said surprised.

"Yeah…Before the whole Vanity thing, I shaved off a piece of the black stone and surgically implanted it into my arm. I kept it covered up for this specific moment. Before the stone was taken to awaken Vanity I used up a bit of the power to look at different outcomes of the future. I found an outcome that would work out for us but it required me to make you guys think I died and become Wiseman's puppet. Upon doing so and putting up a really good act, I was able to find out what Wiseman is going to do now that you put a stop to her Ritual." DJ said.

A tear ran down my face as I braced myself to confront him on the papers I found as well as the truth, "So I wasn't supposed to kill myself to end this war with the Phantoms? You planned on me getting Infinity Style?" I said to him.

DJ had a shocked look on his face, "I wasn't thinking he'd tell you the whole thing. Travis I'm so sorry for deceiving you. I truly am. There isn't any excuse for putting you through all of this." DJ said looking up at me.

"I want to be mad. I have every right to be pissed at you." I lowered my gun from him.

"It's completely understandable how you fee-."

"But I can't…" I said interrupting him.

I started thinking of all the good times I had with him, how much he looked after me before becoming Wizard, and how much my life had gotten better meeting everyone if it wasn't for him. "You gave me a job, helped me get out of the mucky road I was traveling on, and through you I found Karina and all the people I've met who have helped so far. Yes your intent was still there but I actually feel like I have done something with my life rather than staying in a depressed state. Every single one of you has helped me overcome the shell I locked myself up in. You gave me a roof over my head and this journey I've been on has made me a better person than I once was. I even got to meet Manuela, someone who I'm in love with that I wouldn't have met if I stayed stuck. So no I can't be pissed at you. Because without you I wouldn't be where I am now." I said with a heavy tone.

Snow slowly began falling around us as DJ began to stand up, "You really have grown haven't you? Now that I have lost to you my soul will be ripped out of my body, but before that happens I can tell you how to free all of us. How you free us is by-AGGH…" DJ quickly fell to the ground in pain as the black stone on his arm began to rapidly shrink. "DAMN IT I DIDN'T KNOW SHE PUT A CURSE ON ME!" DJ said screaming in pain. "I don't have enough mana in the stone to fight back!" DJ said as he began rolling around on the ground in pain. Suddenly his pain stopped as his eyes became that of an eclipse and he slowly stood up with a deep voice.

"Now don't go giving out personal information my dear Gale." He said.

"Wiseman! What did you do!?" I demanded.

"You shouldn't be worried about what I'm doing and more about yourself." DJ said.

"Transform."

DJ transformed in front of me as a dark light wrapped around him as a dark green variant of him appeared. "I can't allow DJ to spill the beans on how to free these three from my grasp. I still need their mana. But it was clever that he's been putting on act this entire time. Leave it to him to have a backup plan." DJ said.

DJ quickly moved fast like the wind as his dark green claw formed and began slashing at me quicker than I could register anything. I was getting knocked around by his relentless attack with the final blow having a strike down the front of me that sent me flying across the battlefield as I reverted back to my human form. I clutched my chest as I was in a lot of pain from the fight. I was still holding onto my Axecalibur and swordgun. DJ came rushing over to me as he had his claw raised. I fought through the pain as I shot his leg and just grazed it as he stumbled to the ground. His claw still was going to collide with mine as I placed the Axecalibur up to block the attack. DJ was able to knock the weapon out of my hand and quickly get it into his as he held it in the sword position and went to slash me with it. I quickly put my gun in sword mode as I did a rising block.

"Come on DJ I know you're still in there! You need to wake up!" I said to him.

"DJ Isn't here right now Travis. How rewarding that you will fall at the hands of someone close to you. I can't think of a better way to finally end your journey!" DJ said.

"DJ I know you can break free. Ever since Makoto's death and being absorbed into that belt you've always maintained your strength, you always overcome any challenges. I thought you're entire goal that you saw was to stop Wiseman and the Phantoms!" I said.

DJ's body began twitching as I seemed to break through to him a bit. "It doesn't matter what you say I'll tear you down Travis!" DJ said.

"If you could tear me down Wiseman than why haven't you done so already?! You had multiple chances even when my powers were sealed! You've had plenty of chances to do so!" I roared at her.

"Heh. Why fight so hard for someone who raised you to be a pig for slaughter? Why fight so hard for a man who only saw a worthless and helpless child on the street screaming for his mommy and daddy to come back? Anyone else would've taken this opportunity to leave DJ behind but yet you stayed? You know now how this journey of yours ends, and you're perfectly okay with that?" DJ said as his body was still trying to break free of the hold.

"I'll tell you why." I said as I began pushing against DJ until I was standing over him. I then pulled back on the black thumb of my weapon. The singing tune began to play as I reached up to the hand and scanned my ring.

"Infinity! Infinity! Infinity! Infinity!"

"I FIGHT FOR HIM BECAUSE HE'S BEEN LIKE A FATHER TO ME! HE'S ALSO MY LEGAL GUARDIAN! AND I WON'T LOSE ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER TO YOU OR YOUR PHANTOMS EVER AGAIN!"

"Infinity Slash Strike! Sparkling! Sparkling! Sparkling!"

"Now get out of his mind!" I roared as I pressed on the trigger of my weapon.

The blade of my weapon became a giant crystal as silver mana wrapped itself around it. Light hitting the crystal became laser like as they started hitting the ground around DJ as he tried to hold it back. Then in a split second my weapon overpowered my Axecalibur as I slammed it into the ground. When I did a mountain of diamonds and various crystals spiked up 5 inches from the ground. It was beautiful to see them with the snowy background.

The pile of crystals then shattered and vanished as DJ laid on the ground de-transformed with marks all over his body from the attack. He looked at me with some of his clothes ripped, a bit of blood running down his face, and bruises on his body. He had a smile on his face as he gave me a thumb up, "Good job…son." DJ said with his normal voice.

He then passed out as a green orb erupted out of his belt and DJ passed out unconscious. I had tears running down my face as I noticed he was holding a piece of paper in his hand. I grabbed the paper out of his hand as I read the message written on it.

"To save all of us you have to kill Wiseman."

Karina ran out into the battlefield as I picked up DJ's unconscious body to bring him back into the house. I was struggling to lift him up as I heard footsteps running towards us. "TRAVIS! KARINA! What the hell happened here?!" I could hear Mark screaming as he got out of the car. Robin and Shawn were there as well as my friends came and helped each support in carrying us back into the house.

"You know I thought it was a bad idea for us to leave. We all need to stick together." Robin said worried.

"No it's fine, we all deserve to have a break and enjoy our lives from time to time." Shawn said.

"Yeah but with us gone Travis got into a fight. I mean look at our yard it looks like bombs went off in certain places." Mark said.

"Shawn's right in a sense. You guys deserve to have some freedom, plus this is all about to over soon. Once we fight Manuela I've come to a decision. I'm taking the fight to Wiseman." I said to them.

Everyone stopped moving as we got to the porch.

"Wait, do you think you're even ready for that?" Robin asked.

"Yeah we have no idea where to start looking. You haven't found Wiseman's base and I haven't either." Mark said.

"I've got a couple ideas based on some events that's happened all year. But I also have an idea on how to draw her out. But we need to fight Manuela first." I said as we all entered back into the house. What I said wasn't a lie, I had a great idea based on what's going on. I just needed to sit down and pinpoint where Wiseman's location was and then I would send out my Familiars to scope the place out. We got back inside as Mark used his healing magic on DJ's body and I decided to try and rest as I was unsure to when Manuela would strike. I also wanted to be ready to try and break her free from her entrapment.

"When do you think Manuela will show up?" Shawn asked me.

"I don't know. But with how pissed Wiseman might be right now, probably soon." I responded.

"Would you be able to fight her? Could you go through that?" Robin asked.

"If they get knocked out of transformation they lose their soul. Their soul is held captive by Wiseman. If I kill Wiseman we get our friends back to how they were. I have a plan now on how to get them back, now I just have to get there." I said as I began to close my eyes.


	11. Masked Rider Aqua

About a full day had passed since my fight with DJ and Bahamut. Everyone and I used a spare bedroom that we made beds in for Maria and DJ who now lay unconscious and I was standing in between them with Karina making sure they were doing okay.

"Just one more to add to the list." I said as I looked at a blue sleeping bag I lay out at the end of the room.

"Do you think you can do it?" Karina asked.

"I'm going to bring her back. She fought Dragon twice to bring me back, I think it's time I did the same for her. I'll break her free from Wiseman's hold." I said.

Karina got up after adjusting Maria's blanket over her. When she stood up she began to fall to the ground but I quickly grabbed her. "Karina, are you alright? You've been dizzy all day." I said. She was grasping her head as she started blinking multiple times.

"I feel so drained…It's like I didn't have any mana put into me." She said breathing heavily.

"Hold on I'll give you some real quick." I grabbed her hand and placed it over my belt.

" **Please, please."**

A bunch of my orange mana began pouring into her and as she started to absorb it she began screaming in pain. I cancelled my spell and even though my mana wasn't going inside her she was screaming. Everyone came rushing into the room as Karina fell to the ground and her scream began to causing everyone listening to close their ears. We were feeling a lot of pain inside our heads, "TRAVIS! WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?!" Mark screamed at me.

I didn't know what was going on but I had to do something otherwise we were going to go deaf. "I wonder if that ring will help with sound." I thought as I removed my one hand and had a ring appear over it. I quickly placed it over my belt.

" **Voice, please."**

I raised my hand up as shot out a red spell circle that moved through Karina's face as her voice became inaudible screaming. Everyone finally let go of their ears and I kneeled down and grabbed her shoulders.

"Karina! What's wrong? Hey! Karina! Karina!" I was trying to get through to her but she couldn't tell me what was going on. She then grabbed my wrist and when she did the view around me began to change as the only people I could see was me and her. She was still inaudibly screaming but her skin began peeling away from her body and instead of her flesh being seen, I could see pieces of a stone underneath all of the skin. "She told me about this. Something about turning into a magical stone, is it my mana that's doing this to her?" In order to save her I had an idea and that was to get back the mana she took from me. I took the Please Ring off of her and slid it on my finger as I scanned it, "I really hope this works." I said as I scanned the ring again.

" **Please, please."**

I only absorbed the mana I had given her and as I did I could see her peeled skin come back to her and repair itself as her screaming suddenly left. I then cancelled the spell and when the pain looked like it was gone I cancelled the spell from my other ring. I was brought back to the room with our friends standing in front of me as they were trying to shake Karina up.

"I hope that helps." I said.

"Helps? You almost killed her!" Mark said to me.

"Wait…What?!" I said to him.

"We tried to stop you. You just took the ring off her and began absorbing mana. You were absorbing a lot of mana. You know that if she doesn't have enough mana she dies right?! What the hell were you thinking man?!" Mark said as he grabbed me and pushed me out of the room.

"Wait I only took what I gave her. I was only taking back what I gave her. Mark! Mark!" I was thrown out of the room and the door closed behind me and locked. Mark stood on the other side as he relayed a message to me.

"Just stay out there and we'll talk later. I'm going to try and heal her real quick." Mark said.

I heard Mark use his Dolphi Ring and I just walked down to the living room. I couldn't think of hurting Karina and I didn't know what was going on. "I was only taking the little I gave her. Plus how did I get to that weird space. It felt like I was in Karina's mind I think. She just grabbed my hand and I suddenly had my perception changed." I then began remembering what was going on and noticed Karina's lips were just moving the same as she was screaming. I tried to remember how her lips were moving as I realized what they were saying.

" _The mana is killing me, the mana is killing me."_

I then began thinking about how her skin was peeling off as she began to have a body of crystal instead of her own. "Does this mean she's losing her life and it's becoming a magical stone? If I keep feeding her mana…Is Karina going to die?" I was hoping that wasn't the case. I needed to take a break as I walked out of the house and rode my bike down the melting snow streets.

(Makoto's Viewpoint)

I was standing in front of the capsule with blue liquid as Aqua was sleeping inside it. "It's almost time for the birth of a new infinity stone. Once I have it in my hands my new transformation ring will be complete. I'll cast aside the name White Wizard and become a force that will rival my master. I'll become the new Merlin. To think though that Travis was able to beat Gale is surprising. But once I take Karina from him, even his Infinity Style will be no match for me." I said staring at my puppet. I placed my hand on a spell circle that was located on the capsule as the blue mana began to vanish and Aqua's eyes opened up. The door began to open as she stepped out with her skin and hair wet.

"What is it you wish Master?" She asked me.

"Gale has failed us; you are the only Mage left. I need you to go to Travis's house and bring Karina to me. If anyone gets in your way, kill them. But if you encounter Travis I want you to bring him to me alive, but make sure that he's not in fighting condition if you do."

Aqua then walked over to the corner of the room as she put on the clothes lying there and her mage's outfit. She grabbed her rings as she put them in her pocket and proceeded out of the room. "Aqua's powers are probably top tier. When I fought her after making her mine, she could do things that Gale and Flare couldn't do. Travis struggled a bit when taking on the other two when he was protecting Medusa, but I wonder if he'll fare well against Aqua. Of course with how strong she is I have Travis to thank since he trained her to be such a great fighter. If anything this will be entertaining to watch. Once Karina is mine the destruction of humanity can finally begin and I'll sit on a throne as this world's new God." I began laughing as I teleported back to the cave.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I had left for a while to figure out what was going on. But I couldn't stay away for very long as I was worried about Karina and went back home. When I got back I saw Karina lying on the sofa in the living room, Mark was there watching her. "Hey is she doing okay?" I asked him with a sad tone.

"Yeah it took a lot of my mana to get her back to normal. I think she just absorbed my mana. What happened back there? I got a little carried away and I'm sorry for shoving you out of the room." Mark said.

"It's like I said I don't know. When Karina touched me all of you guys vanished and I was in a weird space that I could only see her and me. She kept saying that my mana was killing her. So I decided to take back my mana but I only got a second of it back and then you guys were throwing me out. How long was I sapping her mana?" I asked.

"32 seconds." Mark said.

"This has never happened before. I would like to know what's going on with her. First she brings you back to life, and now my mana is causing her pain. Oh and while I was in that other place I saw her skin peeling off, but instead of blood or flesh under that skin I saw a magical stone. I know that is something she said the other day as well." I said to him.

"Do you think she's actually turning into a magical stone?" Mark asked.

"I don't know. I wish I had the answer, but even if I did what can I do? She'll die without any mana, but at the same time if I give her my mana she's screaming in pain." I said.

"Let's play Devil's Advocate for a second. So when you fought Minotauros, the one who killed her, you were given the Please Ring by White Wizard or Wiseman in this case. What if she wanted you to give her mana so you can turn her into a stone? What reason would Wiseman have to create a magical stone from a living person?" Mark asked.

I closed my eyes as I tried to think about possible reasons; I was then reminded of the spell circle in the cave with Gremlin. "Moon Stones?" I thought. I then told Mark about the Moon Stones we found in the cave where I got my powers. "Gremlin said something about creating more mana and was using Moon Stones. The Stones not only got power but were also able to turn people to Phantoms. Based on what I saw at the time, the stones had cracked. Plus let's use myself as an example. Unless I'm Infinity, I don't have access to a lot of mana. I constantly need to rest and recover if I use too much. So what if, and this is a huge hunch, she needs Karina to make people Phantoms?" I suggested. Mark's eye widened when he heard.

"That's a brilliant idea! Think about it magical stones can hold a lot of mana and you've been giving Karina a bunch of mana two times a week for almost a year and a half. Actually what if there is a limit to how much a magical stone can hold? Has anyone ever tried to pour that much mana into a stone, including a living one, to see what its capacity can hold?" Mark asked.

'No I don't. But I'm sure that Wiseman knows the limit. Which means that she will be coming for Karina soon and if Karina loses all of that mana that mean's she will die…" I said with my voice suddenly cracking.

"But if we don't give her mana, she's going to die, and if we give her mana she begins to experience immense pain. Travis I don't know if this is appropriate right now, but I don't think Karina is going to be able to see this through-"

"SHUT UP! NO I WON'T HEAR IT! I'M GOING TO SAVE HER! WE ARE GOING TO SEE THIS THROUGH!" I roared. Mark went from a soft facial expression to a terrified one. My voice ran throughout the house as Robin and Shawn quickly ran to the living room.

"Hey what's going on out here?" Robin asked.

I realized I had gotten triggered as I began taking a few deep breaths, "I'm sorry for bursting out like that Mark. I don't know what got over me." I apologized.

"I understand how you must feel; I just didn't think you'd get to that level of upset. It's been a long time since I saw that side of you." Mark said breathing steadily.

"What's going on guys?" Shawn asked.

I was staring at the ground trying to gather my thoughts.

"If we beat Wiseman, Karina probably won't make it through. We think her body is becoming a living magical stone and it's at the limit of holding mana. Anymore mana I give her will cause her pain, and if I don't give her mana she'll die." I said as I tried to hold my tears back.

"You've got to be kidding me, is there anything we can do? There has to be something to prevent that from happening?" Robin said with her hand over her mouth.

"Karina is like family to us. We have to find a way to save her!" Shawn said staring at her.

"My mana I gave her should last her a couple of days. That's a couple of days we can use to figure out something." Mark said.

I bent down next to Karina as I placed my hand on her head, "Don't worry I'm going to find out how to save you. I promise."

Robin and Shawn began to head towards the door, "Where you guys going?" Mark asked.

"I don't want to stand by and watch Karina suffer, so I'm going to go do some research on possible options we could use to save her." Shawn said.

"I'm going to go do some research and check some of the places in town where Phantoms have attacked and see if I can find a location where Wiseman might be. Maybe if we defeat Wiseman we can break the spell on Karina and save her life." The two said as they got their coats on. Right before they were to grab the door handle, we noticed the door began to show ice forming in random spots.

"Guys get away from the door you two." I said as I scanned a ring.

" **Defend, please."**

I quickly put up a red spell circle in front of them as the door became ice and exploded with pieces zipping towards them. The parts of the door hit my spell as it protected my friends and stood in the door way was Manuela in her black hooded mage outfit.

"I'm guessing Manuela's special ability is ice manipulation." Mark said as he stood up.

"What are you doing here Manuela?" I asked her.

She spoke normal unlike how the other Mages had spoken to me, "Oh what's wrong babe? Not happy to see me?" She said as her eyes turned into the eclipse looking eyes that Dark Wizard had when I first met him.

Robin and Shawn quickly ran behind us as Mark and I moved forward to protect our friends. "I'm guessing you're here for something." Mark asked.

"Why yes I am." Manuela said as she lifted her finger to point at Karina. "I'm here for the doll." She said with a smile.

"Mark be careful, she's stronger than the other Mages. We need to get her away from the house." I said.

"Got it." He said as he charged at her.

Manuela went to do a palm strike but at last second Mark dodged under the attack as he head butt her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he began to push her away from the house. Manuela clenched her hands together as she hit him in the spine causing him to let go of her. She then grabbed him by his jacket and with a lot of strength chucked him across the front porch as his body broke the wooden rocking chairs. Manuela turned to face me as I came at her with a jumping kick to her chest knocking her off the front porch and into the yard. I went in with a right palm strike as she knocked it to the side with a sweeping motion. She then locked my wrist with her hand and flipped me over her as she slammed me onto the ground.

She raised her foot to smash my face in but I rolled to the side and I used my foot to kick the back of her leg to make her fall to the ground. She jumped up into the air to avoid that. I quickly stood back up as I began a string of combos of palm strikes that she greatly blocked. She grabbed both my wrists and twisted them with great ease. I had a sharp pain running up my forearms as she began adding pressure to them. "I don't remember you being this overwhelmingly strong." I said to her.

"You'd be surprise the amount of power given to me by my master." She said with a chuckle.

I quickly put my feet together as I jumped up and kicked her in the chest causing her to let me go. I recovered from my fall as she came running back up to me. I went to do a kick towards her side but she grabbed my leg, "Damn she's quick on reacting to attacks. She has gotten a lot better as a fighter since the beginning of this year. She's pretty fluid with her attacks as she moves around this fight freely like water. I might've trained her too well." I thought. She squeezed my leg hard as ice began forming around my feet. "Oh that's not good." I said as my foot became numb.

"Don't forget about this handsome devil!" Mark said as he leapt over me and punched Manuela across the face. This caused her to let go of my leg and the ice around my foot quickly disappeared.

"My foot…I can feel it again." I thought as I tapped it a few times. "Mark! She can freeze your limbs! Be careful!" I said to him.

Mark had delivered another punch to her face as he spun around and kicked the back of her kneecaps before he grabbed her robes spun her around and slammed her straight into the ground. Manuela moaned in pain but quickly recovered as she brought her legs up and crossed them around Mark's neck. I quickly ran to help him but as I did her eyes glowed as a wall of snow blocked my path. Before the snow had time to block my view I noticed she used her legs to slam Mark on his back which she stood over him with her hand stretched out and slammed on his chest.

"Mark close your ears!" I said to him.

" **Voice, please."**

"What did you say? A little busy at the mo-AGHGHHGH OH MY GOD MAKE IT STOP!" He screamed.

I had casted my spell at the wall of ice as I made enough cracks in it to break and charge through it. When I did I tackled Manuela off of Mark as we rolled onto the ground until I was on top of her. She was pinned to the ground breathing heavily while I had one hand raised in the air.

"I thought you said you weren't ready to move onto dominating me like this." Manuela said with a seductive tone.

"Manuela you need to come to your senses. You're better than this. The real you would never hurt your friends or me. You need to break free from the spell Wiseman has put on you." I said to her.

"Heh what would you know Travis. It's because of you I'm working for my master to begin with. Oh did you forget already about how you snapped my neck and killed me at the beginning of the year? I find it funny that you are all about not wanting me to hurt my close ones but it's completely okay for you to hurt us right?" She said with a wicked smile.

"You knew that All Dragon was going to kill the people I cared about. You know I didn't want to hurt you guys, when I trained you to fight against me all those months I did so you could protect yourself if I wasn't around, not to fight me." I said to her.

"Awww you weren't so easily manipulated by my words. That sucks I like seeing you suffer." She said as she rolled me off her and reversed our positions. "Remember when you held your fist like this back when you slammed me up against the wall for almost having you killed? Well unlike you, I'm more likely to punch that pretty little face of yours. Only this time it's going to hurt." She said as frost began covering her entire hand. She went to punch me but Mark grabbed her hood and yanked her off of me. She twirled around him as she hit him in the back and then in the stomach with her frozen fist. She then twirled and kicked him across the face as Mark fell to the ground with blood coming out of his mouth.

I quickly got up and scanned a ring as she went to deliver a fatal blow.

" **Fall, please."**

A circle appeared under Mark as the ground moved deeper down as Manuela stopped her attack. "Mark are you okay?!" I called out.

"I'm fine, just bring Manuela back I'll be right there." He said.

Manuela had her back turned to me standing perfectly still. "The Manuela I love would never go this far to hurt me. I'll do what I must if it means I break you free from this spell." I said as the Driver On Ring and Infinity Ring appeared on my fingers.

"You can certainly try honey. But as long as Wiseman is in control of my soul I do her bidding. I will beat you and then I'm taking Karina with me. She's needed to help perfect my Master's new Infinity Stone. She is just a piece of fruit that is ripe and ready to be consumed…" Manuela said as she turned around to face me with her Driver On Ring sliding onto her finger. "And we have thanks to you for getting her to this point." She said as we both scanned our rings.

" **Driver On, now."**

" **Driver On, please."**

"I'm not letting you guys take her from me, I've lost enough people on this journey."

I flipped the levers on my belt.

" **Sha Ba Doobi Touch to Transform."**

"Without Wiseman Karina is going to die either way. There's always a price to pay when you bring someone back to the dead. It's why resurrection magic is forbidden. But you'll learn soon enough because no matter what you do, Karina's fate has already been written." She said as she flipped the levers on her belt.

" **Sha Ba Doobi Touch to Transform."**

My eyes lit up silver as Manuela's turned into the eclipse that Dark Wizard had as we scanned our rings.

"Transform." I said.

"Transform." She said.

" **Infinity, please! Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

" **Change, now."**

A silver dragon roared out of my belt and began flying around everywhere as it collided into me.

She had a blue spell circle appeared slanted towards the ground as it moved through her.

Her form was the same as the others but all of her jewels were blue. She came into the fight with her claw as she ran across the battlefield. I raised my hands in front of me as my swordgun and Axecalibur in Axe mode appeared. I charged at her as I took my axe and tried to slash at her chest. She blocked with her claw and I back flipped into the air knocking her arm away. Once I hit the ground I scanned my ring.

" **Infinity!"**

I super sped as I tried to slash through her but she summoned a wall of ice in front of me as her blue claw vanished with a different spell ring attached to her finger.

" **Blizzard Stream, now."**

The ice barrier I had just run into became a streaming torrent shooting straight at me. I put my blades up into an X formation as the attack began pushing me back across the battlefield. I was struggling to hold my ground against the attack. I heard something from the distance as she scanned another spell ring.

" **Aqua Stream, now."**

A blue spell circle flew into the ice as the element I was fighting turned into water rapidly. The water instead of going in a straight line as before began swirling around me forming a sphere locking me inside. "Oh this is not good." I said as the sphere rapidly filled up with water.

I was struggling to breathe as Manuela began laughing. "You know what's fun about using both my spell rings, I can now manipulate both and ice and water at will. You always claimed you loved cold things, so let's see how much you love it as the body of water becomes a body of ice." Manuela said as she had her hand aimed at me slowly becoming a fist. As slow as it got the more the water inside began to freeze. "I'm starting to think maybe I should not be so excited about the cold." I thought to myself.

The ice had gotten to my legs and I was trying to figure out how to get out of this trap. I then heard someone run into the battlefield with a bullet hitting Manuela's outstretched arm. She grabbed her injured wrist as Mark had crawled out of the hole with his Mirage Magnum in hand pointed at her. The ice sphere fell to the ground as it shattered into pieces.

" **Driver On!"**

Mark's belt transformed as he raised his Lion Ring.

"I promised I would never hurt anyone else I care about, but last time I checked my friend was Manuela, and you're not her. The Manuela I know would never hurt Travis again. This isn't just his fight as much as he tries to keep me out of it. You're my friend too, and I fight for my friends." Mark said as he was limping a bit.

"Heh. You can't even stand properly. What makes you think you're even worth a spot in this fight?" Manuela said.

"If I still breathe, I still fight." Mark said as he raised his transformation hand up in the air. He widened his stance as the pain in his leg spread across his body. "Heeeennnn…..SHIN!" he said as he circled his arms and insert his ring into the belt.

" **Set!"**

" **Open!"**

" **L-I-O-N! LION!"**

A yellow spell circle appeared in front of him as he marched right through it firing multiple blasts at Manuela that were aimed at her face. She used her claw to block the attacks. Mark jumped up into air with his Mirage Magnum cocked behind him as Manuela lowered her guard to see where he was at. She didn't expect him to be close to him as Mark punched her across the face with his gun. He rolled onto the ground and while in mid roll quickly brought out his Dice Saber. Manuela charged towards him with her claw up in the air as Mark fired more shots at her that she swiped at deflecting the attack. Mark put down his gun as he rolled the dice on his sword and placed his Lion Ring in it.

" **1! Saber Strike!"**

"Always with the bad luck!" He said as he pulled on the trigger of his sword and a yellow lion roared out to push Manuela back from him. The lion swiped furiously at her and was putting up a good fight until Manuela got it to back off by pushing it off her with her claw. She had a split second of opportunity to strike and took it as she swiped her claw through the lion causing it to vanish. Out of a desperate attempt Mark quickly grabbed his Hyper Ring and inserted it into the appropriate slot.

" **Go! Hyper! Hy-Hy-Hy-Hyper!**

Mark's spell circle phased through him as his most powerful form appeared. Mark tried to stand up on his feet but was only brought back down again due to the pain in his leg. "Time to see how this lion fares staying on the ground." He said as I watched him insert his ring into his gun.

" **Hyper Magnum Strike!"**

The entire time they were fighting I was trying to get my foot out of the ice and I had finally broken free as Manuela's claw reverted back to her hand with a new spell ring on her finger. She then scanned the ring.

" **Kick Strike, now."**

"Oh this is not good. If Mark's attack doesn't beat her he's a sitting duck." I said as I began moving my feet as quick as I could.

Manuela back flipped into the air as a blue spell circle appeared in a row towards Mark. Mark fired his gun directly at her and Manuela had water form around her leg as she came flying through each of her spell circles. Chimera erupted out of the gun charging at her and once the two met, Manuela's water left her foot and formed a giant circle around Chimera. Pieces of the circle turned into pillars of ice the stabbed through Chimera keeping him pinned down as Manuela kicked through him and her attack still kept going towards Mark.

I finally got in the way of the attack and tried to activate my impenetrable barrier but it required me to be completely still, unfortunately I couldn't due to the pain my body was still dealing with from surviving the fall from the ball of ice. "This is going to hurt like a bitch." I said as Manuela's attack hit me square in the chest. I stretched out my arms to try and take the whole attack. I tightened my fists as my body gave off an explosion that sent me and Mark flying farther away. Mark was sent somewhere farther from me as he was de-transformed. I on the other hand smashed through a nearby tree. I finally rolled to a stop on the ground as the tree came to a stop in front of me. I was breathing heavily as I reverted back to my normal form. My clothes were filled with holes and marks were all over my body and I was bleeding from my mouth. I stood up as my body began to shiver uncontrollably. I was having a hard time seeing where I was walking and didn't count for the tree being as close as I fell over it. I leaned my back up against it holding my hand over my stomach.

"TRAVIS!" Robin and Shawn yelled out. They began to run into the battlefield.

"STOP! Don't come in here!" I said.

Manuela began walking towards me still transformed. She had my swordgun in her hand as she raised the blade up to my chin. "Does this sound familiar babe? Remember how I had a dream like this?" She said.

"…Yeah…I remember…" I said weakly.

"You couldn't stop me. You couldn't save me from this happening. You couldn't save me from us getting to this point, and you couldn't save me from you either. If I remember correctly you killed me in All Dragon. So an eye for an eye it would seem. Even though my master wants you alive." She said in a cold tone.

"To be honest I didn't think you would become Masked Rider Aqua. I didn't think Wiseman would get his hands on you. I didn't want you to fight me in All Dragon. I never did. I had only thought teaching you martial arts would be a way to defend you in case you got caught up by Phantoms or Ghouls." I said.

"No, to be honest it was so I could be more useful to you. You were my lover after all. I wanted to contribute something to the group instead of just being a pretty face. A therapist when you began to struggle. Everyone has a role. Shawn is the ring maker, Karina helps track Phantoms, Robin can help supply you with information on possible Phantom cases as well as protecting you from the police in the town so you can save all these people. DJ was a ring maker as well amongst other things. Mark helps fight Phantoms by your side. What do you think lil old Manuela does? Nothing. All I did was just be your girlfriend, one that was trying to make it in this world using her voice in the musical industry. When it came to Phantoms I was useless. So I secretly asked you to teach me how to fight. While training me you taught me how to fight against you and I was able to get all the information needed to fight against you in your forms as you used each unique style of fighting to teach me how to defend against different techniques." She said with a depressed tone.

"I didn't know you felt this way…I'm so sorry Manuela. I was trying to protect you. I didn't want to lose you, you were so important to me." I said to her.

"I guess I wasn't so important if you couldn't keep me alive. You can't protect anything in your life. You want to be this superhero but you're not special. How can you bring hope to people if you can't even protect the people you love?" She said.

"You're right I struggle with protecting the people I care about. I care about the people in this city, I don't want to see nor have people go through what all of us are fighting against. It tears me apart when I see victims to the Phantoms, especially when I kill said Phantoms. Before they became Phantoms these were actual people who weren't tangled up in this mess. Some of them could've gone and lived better lives if they weren't involved. I don't show it, but that stuff does bother me. Nobody else can do anything about it. That's why I always push myself to be there, to save them. I might not do a good enough job at protecting people, but through this journey I've learned the hard way that I can't protect everyone. It's something I have to live with and accept. But that doesn't mean I stop trying, because if I stop trying to help these people everyone dies. There is so much that goes on inside my head that I keep buried, that I act like it doesn't really affect me, but it really does." I said as tears ran down my face.

"Well you're lying up against part of a tree, unable to get up and fight. So in the end my point remains that you can't protect anyone and everyone is going to die. You're entire journey you've been on has come to a close Ring-Bearing Magician." Manuela said as she reeled back the sword.

"I may not be able to get up and fight and this journey I've been on has been super rough on me, but one thing I know for sure is I haven't been alone on this journey, and this entire fight you've played right into our hands." I said with a cocky smile on my face.

Mark was standing some feet behind her as he lifted his Mirage Magnum and slammed his Hyper Ring into the insert of his gun.

" **GO! HYPER!"**

A music from the gun kept playing over and over again as Mark stared at Manuela who slowly turned around.

"Get the hell away from my best friend." He said as he removed the ring and pulled the trigger.

" **Magnum Strike!"**

Chimera roared out of the gun as it rammed into Manuela sending her farther away from me swiping at her furiously as it knocked her onto the ground. Manuela was in too much pain from the surprise attack as Chimera charged towards her becoming a ball of light that upon impact made a giant explosion as flames formed in a circle around her and the snow vanished and the ground turned black. Once the explosion was removed Manuela was standing and slowly fell to the ground as she de-transformed. While she was falling I stood up and began limping towards her just in time to catch her in my arms. I watched as the eclipse eyes revert back to her normal brown as she began breathing a bit.

"…Travis…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean that…I really…" She said with a sad face.

I gave her a hug as I rubbed her head happy to have broken the spell, "It's okay Manuela. You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be alright." I said happy to have her back. She moved her head back to look at me.

"You'll beat Wiseman and bring us back right? My sister, DJ and I right?" She asked looking for hope.

"Yes I'll bring all of you back." I promised her.

"Be careful, Wiseman is planning on doing the eclipse again. She's in the process of making a new transformation ring that will rival Infinity. If she makes that ring she'll have infinite mana." She said.

"Thanks for the info. Get some rest you'll be back with us shortly." I said to her.

"Wait…One more thing, this fight was a distraction. I was supposed to only bring you back to Wiseman." She said as her eyes became heavy.

"A distraction what do you mean?"

"Wiseman wants Karina, she's becoming an Infinity Stone. The Karina you knew died on that bridge. The Karina we've all come to know is a doll that stores mana for Wiseman's gain. Karina has become a container of mana and the container is full now. While we were all out here, Wiseman would grab her and take her back." She said.

"Oh God no…" I said as Robin and Shawn who had stayed near the house began to scream.

I quickly snapped my head back up as the two ran out into the yard as Wiseman in her Phantom form holding Karina over her shoulder. "I guess you mages have served your purpose. Your souls and Karina's mana will bring about the new world I will create. Once the ritual is complete the mages and everyone on this planet, Gate or not will become either Phantoms, or part of mankind's past history." Wiseman said as he placed Karina over her shoulder. Wiseman stuck her hand out towards Manuela as the rune on Manuela lit up and I watched as her soul rushed to Wiseman

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mark and everyone else yelled as Wiseman vanished and then a few seconds later reappeared in front of me with Karina no longer on her shoulder.

"Tomorrow we settle this Travis Edge. If you want your friend's souls back then meet me at noon tomorrow alone. It's about time we settle our fight and my final phase of my plan can't fully work without you." She said laughing at me as a purple miasma formed around her causing her to vanish.

I look down at Manuela as anger began to fill me, "Travis you and I tomorrow are going to fight Wiseman and stop everyone." Mark said.

"No." I said.

"Wait, why?!" Mark said.

"Because you need to stay here." I said as I looked up at him, "I need someone to be able to fight off the Phantoms if I don't make it. If you and I go into this fight and we lose, who's going to end Wiseman? There's still hope if you're around." I said to him.

"Alright, but don't lose. Everyone will be waiting for you to come home. Come on inside, it's warmer in the house than out here. We both should heal up and be ready for this fight." Mark said with his hand outstretched to me. I reached out and grabbed it.

"Given what I said, I'm coming back. I'm going to see this through the end. Because like you, I'm mankind's hope." I said. Robin and Shawn were next to us as we all worked with each other getting me, Manuela, and Mark back into the house.


	12. The Darkest Despair

The next day didn't take it's time to arrive as I woke up pretty early in the morning. Everyone was up as they all hung out in the living room. They all were sitting on the couch as they all sat in silence. It stung me a bit as I walked past where Karina normally sits in the morning which was next to her crystal ball. I was so used to looking at her direction as she would say "Good morning bro." But when I looked over at her ball, I had to remind myself she wasn't there. There was a box of donuts from Tim Horton's and a bag of donuts probably for me from Grounds for Thought. Rachel was even sitting with everyone as she saw me and got out of her chair to give me a hug.

"I heard from everyone. Today's finally the day isn't it?" She said hugging me tightly.

I wrapped my arms around her as she began tearing up, "Yeah it is. I can finally make this nightmare end." I said to her.

"There's a part of me that wants me to not let you go. But I know this has to happen. I'm just scared you won't come back." She said as she began breathing heavily.

"I'm going to come back Rachel. Somebody has to keep those Plain Sugar donuts out of stock." I chuckled.

"Ever since I found out that your parents died and DJ had custody of you, I did my best to try and be a step in mom for you. I've come to see you as my own son." She said crying.

I had remembered why she had tried to fill my mother's shoes. Not too long before I moved out here, Rachel's parents and her only son had got involved in a hit and run. Everyone had died in the car and the event almost killed her. When she had found me she had realized that she could heal and at one point thought that the spirit of her son was in me. She was the person who helped me stick to my religion after losing my parents. I had come to accept her care for me and with her being by my side through the Phantoms as well as knowing me as Wizard; I've grown to accept her as my step in mom.

"Things are going to be okay Rachel. Are those donuts for me I'm guessing?" I said as she let go of me and wiped her tears.

"Yeah they are. I figured you might want your strength for this fight. It's funny; when you first came into my shop you were always so fascinated with those things. I remember you telling me that they looked like they would melt in your mouth. Once you got that job from DJ as a newspaper boy you came in every other day just to get them when you dropped off my paper. I was thinking I was going to have to stop ordering them because nobody would buy them. Did you know my son loved these donuts?" She said reminiscing.

"Yeah I remember. You said me ordering them not only felt like your son was still alive, but it kept your hope alive as well to get through your days." I said back.

"You have no idea how much hope you've brought to this town before you became a Masked Rider. It's really amazing at what kind of boy you were and what kind of man you will become." She said with a tender smile on her face. I bent over and picked up the bag of donuts and began eating them. As we were talking about parenting stuff I realized that there was something I should do before I meet with Wiseman.

"Hey guys, before I go to fight I want to stop back somewhere first." I said to everyone.

"Where do you want to go?" Shawn asked me.

"My parents' house." I said as I walked over to the door.

"Wait now?" Robin asked.

"I'll be back. I just want to stop up there." I said.

I put on my black hoodie coat I got from my fight with Dark Wizard and had it over my red crack marble shirt and black sweatpants as it was a bit chilly outside. I went outside and got on my bike as I drove to the house I lived in before I moved into DJ's.

I parked my bike out front as I walked into the house. My key was in the doorknob and it took me a second to turn the knob. I walked into the messy living room and saw photos of everyone in frames on the wall. In every frame was Shawn posing with us. The kitchen was super clean and organized; my bedroom connected to the living room was the same way that I left it when I moved. When I had Shawn live here, he told me he kept my room as it was as well as my parents. He didn't mind sleeping and hanging in the spacious living room since it was just him living there. Connected to the kitchen were my parent's bedroom and a hallway that led to the back of the house.

I turned the doorknob and walked in as I looked around. In the white room lay a king size bed with a red and white floral mattress set and six white pillows that had a rose in the middle of them. A wooden dresser that was eight feet wide had six drawers as well as a giant mirror on top that was absolute beautiful. I ran my hand across the dresser as memories of my parents ran through my mind. I was standing in the middle of the mirror as I looked up to see myself. In just a second my brain imagined the moment where I saw my parents placing their hands on my shoulders.

"Are you ready for this son?" My mom said to me.

"Remember your mother and I are going to be with you in this fight." Dad said to me.

I crossed my arms as I grabbed my shoulders touching their hands, "I've never been more ready for anything in my life." I said as a tear ran down my face.

I looked back into the mirror as my parents were no longer there. I heard a creak from the closet to my left as I walked over and opened it. Inside were a red scarf that my mother wore and a pair of red jeans with multiple zippers. The jeans looked like skinny jeans as I laughed at how ridiculous they looked. The jeans belonged to my dad who use to wear them when he was younger. He had kept these pair because they were the pair he wore when he first my mom. My mom's scarf was given to her during a cold winter and dad had gone out to buy her this scarf that even though years have passed, looked brand new. I took my sweatpants off as I put on the jeans. I had placed my belt in the slots as the jeans fit really well on me. I put the red scarf on and wrapped it around my neck. I had noticed that the scarf wasn't a normal one it was one of those Infinity Scarves so that if it got windy the scarf doesn't blow off. I walked back to the mirror as I looked at my new appearance.

"Why does this feel so natural?" I said as I was amazed at my new look.

I kneeled down next to my parents' bed as I put my hands together and began to pray for the fight that was going to come.

(Wiseman's viewpoint)

Noon was about to strike as I began walking to the downtown of Bowling Green. I walked into the middle of Main Street at the intersection of Wooster. Cars were honking their horns at me as I looked at all of them. People were getting out of their cars yelling at me.

"Not a single one of you guys are Gates. That makes this whole thing a lot easier." I said as I grabbed my ring and scanned it.

" **Explosion, now."**

I spun around a circle as random purple spell circles appeared in random spots around the intersection. Everyone looked up at them as pieces of the buildings began to fall amongst the blast. People began running for their lives but some were not as lucky to escape the debris that were falling. People's cars were sent flying down the streets they came from. Once people saw that, everyone began running in fear from me. They got out of their cars and made a break for it running as far as they could from me.

A few cops showed up as they had their guns drawn and aimed at me. "Oh those aren't going to do anything to hurt me." I said as I scanned another ring.

" **Teleport, now."**

Bullets were fired at me but I had vanished due to being the faster reactor. I appeared behind one cop as I banged his face into his car before throwing him against another one where the window became shattered due to the impact. I had moved to another one as I open palmed him in the chest sending him flying. I saw him bang his head up against the wall as he was knocked unconscious. I then teleported to his partner and vanished then reappeared above a building holding his throat. The cop was struggling to fight back as his eyes started to roll to the back of his head.

"It's so cute to see you try and fight something you aren't capable of handling." I said as I dropped him from the building.

" **Extend, please."**

An arm appeared out of nowhere like rubber as it wrapped around the cop before he fell to the ground and was brought to safety in front of Travis and all of his friends who had shown up to help with the chaos.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Silver-Eyes." I said to him.

"Get these people out of here. I'm going to take care of Wiseman. Mark make sure everyone is safe while I buy people time. When people are safe get back here to help me fight." He commanded. Everyone quickly ran around the chaos getting people to safety.

"As if I'd let you." I said.

" **Explosion, now."**

I aimed my spell circle at his friends and an explosion was made to each and every one of them. Travis had a chilled expression as he began making his way towards me. "How is he so calm?" I wondered. As the vision became clear I saw a red spell circle around his friends who were doing everything they could to get people away.

"You're magic power grew again! I see we are going to have to deal with this quickly." I said as I jumped from the building and landed on the ground.

Travis and I stood still with cars in between us as we stared each other down. I slid my rings off and placed them in my pocket. "Our fated battle right Travis?" I said to him. He didn't respond as he just glared at me. A purple fire ball formed in my hands as I shot it out to the cars in front of me. The blast forced all of the cars at him as he blinked his eyes and the ground underneath the pavement rose up taking the hit. The cars moved to the side as the ground returned back to its place and the pavement repaired itself. Travis was running towards me and I charged at him. He had one ring on his spell finger which he used that hand to palm strike me. I dodged under his strike and went to do an uppercut to his jaw but he took a step back and back flipped into the air in an attempt to kick at my face. I spun in a circle just missing his attack and charged into where he would land for an attack.

Travis had grabbed my shoulders prior to landing and caused a wall of dirt to form behind him where his feet landed. He moved down the wall a bit and knee kicked me in the face. He landed on the ground with perfect recovery as the wall return back to its original position. He charged at me as he hooked me across the face with his opposite hand and then open palmed me in the chest. This caused me to step back a bit and as I got a chance to see what was happening, he jumped into the air and did an axe kick, moving me to the ground.

I had blood running from my nose and I went to shoot another ball of fire at him but he just used the ground to block it. "It's probably because he scanned the Alakazam Ring prior to getting involved in this fight. That ring not only allows him to dual cast but control the elements to his will." I thought.

I was standing right up against a car as I shot out a ball of fire at him which he immediately responded with another wall. But this wall barely moved up in time to block the attack. "His power over the spell is weakening. He must have to scan it again to re-use it." I thought. Travis had a reaction on his face as he looked down at his wall and back up at me again. He went to go scan the ring again as my right arm transformed into my Phantom's. I spun around and slammed it into the car behind me. I spun back around chucking it at him. He bent down quickly as he jumped high into the air. He spun around in a circle just barely missing the car. "Impossible…At that short of a distance?" I was shocked at he brought his foot down and kicked my head down. He landed as he spun around and palm struck me in the chest hard. He put so much power behind that strike it caused me to cut off my ability to breathe for a split second.

He didn't stop there, Travis grabbed me by the throat blocking off my circulation as he held my throat tightly and jammed his knee into my stomach. His spell ring disappeared as he cocked back his arm and punched me across the face. I spiraled to the ground as he had a new ring on his finger. I was trying to find ways to get oxygen into my lungs as he scanned the ring.

" **Big, please."**

A red spell circle appeared over me as he performed a haymaker with his opposite hand. I took my transformed hand and put it up to grab his attack. Cracks formed all around me as the impact made a gust of air disperse out around. Travis pulled his hand out and punched it right back into the circle. I put up a barrier as he kept doing this trying to break free. I finally was able to breathe again as I made a huge gasp of air before thinking I was going to black out. Pieces of the road were floating up with every smash.

"This kid is crazy! He is putting some power behind each and every hit. I'll have to transform into my Phantom if I'm going to get out of this." I said as a purple mist appeared around me.

I lowered my barrier down as the mist protected me from his assault. In the mist I shot out multiple balls of fire that he put his hand in front of himself to protect before cancelling his spell. "Damn I was hoping that would work a lot better than it did." He said with irritation.

"It probably would've if you could've dual casted. You were slow enough to get your hand through the circles. Now you'll be dealing with my Phantom form." I said to him.

"I've got no issue with beating you no matter what form you take. You only made this slightly more challenging." He said as he placed crossed both his arms forming an X. a ring on each hand appeared as Travis looked at me with determination in his eyes.

"If you think I'll let you transform, you have another thing coming." I said as the pieces of pavement rose above me. Multiple purple spell circles appeared in front of me as the pieces went through transformed into daggers. Travis quickly evaded the attack jumping to the left but I used my hand to guide the projectiles to him. He quickly ran around the battlefield getting ready for his transformation. He couldn't dodge my attack long enough to transform and then he noticed me.

"Let's see if this works." He said as he began charging me.

He came running at me and my right arm began glowing purple and enflamed as he charged at me. I went to strike and at last possible second he jumped sideways into the air missing my attack by three inches and in midair above my head I heard something.

" **Driver On, please."**

"Transform!"

When he landed on the ground he knocked the levers of the belt to the side. My projectiles about zoomed past me as he quickly scanned his ring.

" **Flame, please. Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!"**

A red spell circle appeared in front of him as the projectiles not only hit it, but melted upon impact. He ran through the circle with his swordgun. He did a flurry of slashes at me as I stood there taking them. I then reached out and grabbed his sword as I yanked him towards me and punched him in the face. I let go of his weapon as I grabbed his throat and lifted him up into the air. My hands began glowing as he struggled to break free as I began sapping all of his mana.

"What I'm doing is sapping your mana little by little. You won't get a chance to cast as much spells or even fight if this goes on." I said to him.

"You want my mana, you can have it." He said as he flipped the levers and scanned the ring.

" **Voice, please."**

He waved his hand up into the air as a red spell circle came out shooting out loud sound vibrations. This caused me to drop him as he kept the spell going. I then reached my hand out to the vibrations as I began absorbing his attack. I then shot it out right back at him as the vibrations from both of us started shattering the cars around us.

"You don't just absorb mana; you can reflect others back at them?" Travis said surprised.

"Heh nice trick huh." I responded.

Travis quickly pulled back on the black thumb of his sword.

" **Voice Slash Strike!"**

He cancelled his spell and placed his hand over the ring as the vibrations formed around his blade. He quickly slashed the air as my spell made his way towards him. The curved blade cut through my spell cancelling each other out as he changed his form ring.

"Let's see how you like this then." He said as he shoved the faceguard down.

" **Hurricane, please! Air! Air! Air! Air!"**

Gusts of wind formed around him as a green spell circle appeared above him and he jumped up into the air with a new ring attached to his finger.

" **Copy, please."**

A green spell circle appeared over his sword as he now wielded two in an inverted grip. He flew around the battlefield trying to slash at me but I was able to dodge his attacks. He then pulled back on his copied blade's black thumb and scanned the ring.

" **Copy Slash Strike!"**

Multiple swords appeared around him as they went up into the air. There must've been around 30 of them as they came raining down at me. I quickly grabbed one of the cars near me and chucked it up into the air. While distracted Travis came flying towards me as he had scanned his ring in the original sword.

" **Hurricane Slash Strike! Air! Air! Air!"**

Green wind formed around his blade as went to slash me through the chest. I ducked under the blade and shot fireball at him in the back. It knocked him to the ground as his original sword spun to my feet. I bent down and picked it up as I charged at him. I slashed at his chest, spun around and slashed him again. He lifted his blade to stop another attack, but I kicked his kneecap holding his balance then ripped a car door off as I slammed him in the face with it sending him flying through a building. I shot another fireball at him that he dodged as I stepped into the building to see it was a bar restaurant. I looked at the bottles of alcohol on the shelves. Travis was breathing heavily from the attack.

"With the souls of the Mages I'll be able to do just more than conjure up a fireball. Let's see how well you handle fighting Aqua's power set again." I said as I threw the sword at a support on the shelf as the bottles of alcohol fell and shattered on the floor. When it did all of the liquid rose up from the ground and I clenched my fist as the liquid instantly froze forming sharp spears. Travis quickly took this moment to transform as the liquid solidified.

" **Water, please. Water! Water! Water! Water"**

I fired off a few of the frozen spears as they connected with his blue spell circle revealing his form. In the midst of the assault Travis scanned another ring as I sent a bunch of the spears at him.

" **Liquid, please."**

His entire body became water as all of my attacks pierced the floor behind him or next to him. He pulled back on the black thumb of his weapon as I lifted my hand up into the air slowly.

" **Water Shooting Strike! Water! Water! Water!"**

A blue spell circle appeared in front of his gun as a ball of water formed. He pulled back on his weapon as I reached my other hand out and stopped the water from hitting me. The frozen spears around him melted and formed a sphere around him. He became entrapped inside as and struggled to get out. He moved onto the next transformation that could help him.

" **Water DRAGON! Bubble! Bubble! Bubble! CRASH!"**

A dragon's roar was made as a blue dragon shot out of the sphere and crashed into him breaking Travis out of the sphere as he landed onto the ground. He scanned another ring as he maintained quick speed.

" **Very Nice! Blizzard! The Best!"**

His tail hit the ground as I was still holding his water bullet back from hitting me. Ice formed until it ran under the ball causing it to freeze and thousands of cracks immediately formed on it. I tapped into DJ's powers as a wall of wind formed around me and it was spinning rapidly around me that certain objects in the restaurant started spinning around as well. I crossed my arms over my chest as I slowly bent down.

Travis quickly charged at me with his gun aimed at me looking for an opening. "Perish." I said as the power of my spell was starting to rip the wood and walls apart. I broke the formation I made as the wind shot in random directions outward. Travis got hit by this attack as he was sent flying out of the restaurant and into a school bus out in the middle of the road. The entire building and the one next to it were shattered as the outside areas had pieces of debris falling. I stood in the midst of the wreckage admiring the destruction caused.

Travis was knocked out of transformation from the attack as he was breathing heavily.

"You're a real piece of work you know that?" He asked me trying to stand up.

"Why do you fight for the humans? All they have done is cause you pain. You were never anything of significance when you lost your parents, and you're nothing now. You're just a child fighting for a cause that is going to wipe itself out eventually." I said to him.

"Yeah you're right. I meant nothing to people. Not a damn thing. When I needed help surviving on my own I asked everyone around for help. All they did was kept walking. I was what? Twelve? Trying to find work, trying to find ways to not go to those dark moments in my mind where I felt I was better off dead because I had no idea how to survive let alone cope with the loss of my parents. I was also left in a town where nobody knew me because my parents thought I wasn't safe around kids. It was so easy to be alone than to let others in where I made myself vulnerable. Then one day when I was out on the streets again finding some purpose in my life, I ran into Rachel and DJ. It was on a day where I wanted to give it one last try and if I came home that day with nothing, I was going to see my parents. I couldn't do it anymore. But then I met those two. DJ gave me a job as a newspaper boy, and Rachel provided me with food and even at times come by to my home to take care of me. DJ gave me money and sometimes a bonus as well supporting me. Those two gave me a reason to keep fighting. It didn't help the pain go away of wanting my parents." He said to me standing up arms stretched out.

"What's the point of your story?" I questioned.

"I almost gave up my life because nobody was there for me. People ignoring my very own existence and my cries for help, but I found two people who in my time of need picked me back up and gave me hope. Two people who didn't need to do anything; they could've been like everybody else and just kept walking. But because, at the time, two strangers stretched their hands out to me and helped me get to where I am today. Is the main reason why I fight you now; if I lose and should Mark lose, nobody is safe from you turning the world into Phantoms. People will continue to being victims and go through things that were as bad as mine or worst. Until I finally stop breathing, I'm going to keep them safe and kill you." He claimed with a determined expression all over his face.

I reverted back to human self as I slid my rings on my fingers.

"If you truly think you can then let's see you back up your words with your actions." I said as flipped the faceguard down on my ring and scanned my other one.

" **Driver On, now."**

"Transform."

" **Change, now."**

A purple spell circle appeared in front of me phasing through my body as my white hooded form appeared. Travis had his Infinity Stone appear on his finger.

" **Driver On, please."**

"You've made my life harsh, but at the same time you helped me. But I can't let you continue living any longer." Travis said as he raised his transformation hand showing off his ring to me.

(Travis's Viewpoint)

"Transform."

" **INFINITY! PLEASE!** **Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

Both of our forms appeared in the brilliant light of our circles. My Axecalibur formed in my hand as Wiseman placed a ring in his Hamel Cane.

" **Dupe."**

Three more canes formed around him as they began soaring at me. I put my weapon in sword mode as I slashed through them knocking them to the side. I charged at Wiseman as I scanned a ring on my belt.

" **Excite, please."**

I ran through the silver spell circle as my form became ripped. I raised my left arm to strike as Wiseman spun around me slicing at my side before hopping over me. Wiseman went to stab me in my shoulder but I spun forward away from my opponent and then charged in with an open palm attack that sent my enemy flying into a car bending it in half. I returned to my original form as I scanned another ring.

" **Bind, please."**

Silver chains made of diamonds appeared as they wrapped themselves around the car and Wiseman. I lifted them up into the air as I high fived the black hand on my Axecalibur.

" **High Touch! Shining Plasma Strike!"**

I spun the weapon around me above as it got bigger, "IT'S OVER!" I said as I took the axe and sliced down the middle of the car and cutting Wiseman in two. A giant explosion was made creating a strong gust that shot outwards as I stood there with my impenetrable barrier up so I wouldn't be harmed. I looked at the fiery wreckage and noticed that the Wiseman I was fighting was a clone. "Damn that had to have happened when Dupe was put into the Hamel Cane?!" I said. I heard someone rushing behind me as I placed my sword behind me doing a rising block and caught the cane from slashing down my back.

"I'm surprised you figured that I was right behind you." Wiseman said to me.

"I heard you running." I said as I went to strike as I knocked the weapon to the side and shifted my weapon from sword to axe. I ran the blade of the axe into Wiseman's side and with a lot of force ripped through her as she got sent flying into a building. This too was a clone and a few other clones formed in a circle around me. "I'm going to say it's safe to assume that none of you are the real ones." I said aloud.

I quickly scanned another ring.

" **Extend, please."**

A spell circle appeared through my Axecalibur as I held it in sword mode and began swinging the blade around like it was a snake. I wrapped the blade around two of the Wiseman's throats and used their bodies to clear the ones getting close to me before raising them up into the air and slamming them into the ground. These clones were dying quickly, "Wiseman must be running low on mana if they are dying without a lot of effort. Lucky for me I guess." I watched as one clone went to throw a car at me as I scanned another ring.

" **Voice, please."**

A silver spell circle appeared as sound waves emanated from it that was loud enough to halt the car. I jumped up and kicked the car back at the clone that died upon impact. I landed down on the ground as another Wiseman came soaring down from the sky.

" **Explosion."**

Wiseman's Hamel Cane glowed purple and I jumped out of the way but not far enough as his attack hit the ground and purple light ripped out of the ground towards me causing a huge explosion that sent me flying down the street. I rolled on my side until I came to a stop. I could see that Wiseman was breathing heavily as she had wasted a lot of mana. Unfortunately for Wiseman, I had a crap ton of mine left.

"It's over Travis. This next spell will take everything I have to end you." Wiseman said pulling out a gold and black transformation ring. "He's got a new ring huh? I'll have to end this quickly." I said as I got back up and scanned a ring.

" **Very Nice, Kick Strike."**

I jumped up into the air as I began soaring down with three silver spell circles in front of my foot.

"I wanted you to do that." Wiseman said as she held out the new transformation ring. I didn't have time to think anything of it as I put a bunch of my power behind my kick thinking that he won't get a chance to even use the new ring. Once my foot hit the ring, a black spell circle appeared in between the ring and my foot as all of my mana began getting absorbed into the ring. My mana was quickly draining and in just seconds I fell to the ground from exhaustion as I reverted back to my human form.

"What the hell just happened?!" I said as my view was getting really dizzy. Wiseman walked up to me as she grabbed my shirt and lifted me up to her face as she reverted back to her human form. I saw her have a huge smile on her face.

"You just sealed your fate and everyone else's. This entire fight I had been waiting for you to do a Rider Kick in Infinity Style just so I could steal all of your mana." She said to me.

"You weren't trying to defeat me, you were trying to push me to use my final form to get what you wanted?!" I said trying to break myself free. But a lot of my strength was leaving my body as I had very little mana left in me.

Wiseman spun her body around as she slammed my back onto the pavement as pain coursed throughout my body. I tried to lift myself up but she stomped on my chest keeping me pinned.

"With your help Travis you gave me something that will make me all mighty. With this ring I might just even rival Merlin himself. The power that now resides in this ring is even greater than the power of your Infinity Style. I guess you can say that your Infinity Stone lives for hope, but thanks to me stealing almost all of your mana and adding it to this ring, I have created an Infinity Stone that lives for bringing forth despair. I couldn't have done this so quickly without your help. But I guess now that I have everything I need, you aren't need anymore." She laughed. She grabbed my Axecalibur that laid next to me as she raised the sword up and went to stab it into my face. But before she could we heard something in the distance.

" **1\. Saber Strike."**

A red buffalo came charging as it rammed into Wiseman sending her flying away from me before disappearing. Mark came running into the battlefield as he helped me up. "Travis are you okay?!" He asked me.

"I messed up. She has all of my mana in a new transformation ring. We might have just doomed the world." I said breathing heavily.

"Yes you guys have. With this new transformation ring I will do everything in my power to kill the very things you guys have sworn to protect. Let's begin." Wiseman said as she flipped the levers on her belt.

" **Shabadoobi Touch to Transform."**

"Transform."

" **Change, now."**

Black spell circles formed over the whole road of the downtown area. Black runes formed like chains that began circling around Wiseman. A strong gust of wind began rushing through the battlefield keeping Mark and I from trying to get close.

"hey Trav old buddy?" Mark said to me.

"Yeah Mark?"  
"This does not look good my friend." He responded.

"I know you like to joke but I think now's not the time." I said to him.

The black runes wrapped themselves around Wiseman's body as she was looking up into the sky. She lowered her head slowly.

The black spell circles moved up her body and as it did the cars and debris began lifting up into the air. The spell circle turned into a black and gold sphere as the gust of wind became focused around the sphere. Then everything that was lifted up into the air shot forward at us as the sphere vanished.

" **Defend, please."**

"MARK GET BEHIND ME!" I said as I put up a red spell circle in front of me with the little mana I had to stop any of the debris hitting us. A car hit my spell as my barrier began to fade away a bit. The car flew over us and every other little debris that hit my shield began draining my mana. Once everything stopped flying at us I fell to my knees exhausted beyond belief. I had maybe a drop of mana left in my being.

"Travis are you alright?!" Mark said crouching down to me.

"I'm out of ma…Ma…Mana…" I said trying to fight back the fatigue.

We both looked up at Wiseman's new form as she began laughing as if she had already won the fight.

"BEHOLD! My new form! From here on out you shall call me Masked Rider: Sorcerer, the Despair-Bringing Mage."


	13. And the Brightest Hope

Mark and I watched as Wiseman became Masked Rider Sorcerer and we both knew that in our current situation we stood no chance against her. "This is pretty bad bud." Mark said to me.

There was a black and gold pointy hat on her head, with shoulder armor that pointed outwards and then curled up at the end. Underneath the shoulder armor was a black cape that reached all the way down past Sorcerer's waistline. Her arms and entire chest was gold with silver ring chains forming in a circular motion around each of her chest. The red Wizardriver attached with these black tapes flowing down to her ankles and having a gold outline that moved around gently in the wind that was still moving around us. She had black and gold boots. Sorcerer stuck out her hands as all of her rings outside the gold one on her fingers magically appeared in front of her.

"You can have these. I no longer need them to cast spells anymore." She said as the rings vanished and appeared in front of us.

"Explosion, Teleport, and Copy are right here." Mark said.

"Mark I'm about to pass out I need to restore my mana otherwise I'm just dead weight." I said to him.

"I can give you some of mine." He said.

"I don't know how you can, the only way you can do that is if you had the Please Ring." I said weakly.

"Wiseman took off the ring when he got Karina. I have it and we can use it." He said as he pulled out the ring. At the moment a fireball was soaring at us as Mark quickly picked me up and moved to the side.

"Don't think that I'll let you have the chance to give Travis any mana, Primordial One. If you give him anymore mana I'll kill him before he even stands back on his feet." She said to us.

"I'll create a distraction. Can you move somewhere where we can give you some of my mana?" Mark asked.

"You're going to have to really stall her I'm barely keeping it together. I think I'm getting by with the amount of adrenaline in my body from passing out. Actually I have a better idea. If I can get some food in me I might be able to generate some energy." I said as I looked at the Grounds for Thoughts store behind Sorcerer.

"I always found it weird that food gives us mana." Mark said. "I'll buy you some time but I don't know how much of it." He said to me.

He pulled out his Hyper Ring.

" **Go! Hyper! Hy-Hy-Hyper!"**

Ayellow spell circle appeared in front of him as he ran through it with the Mirage Magnum in hand as he began firing at Sorcerer. I waited for Sorcerer to move or be distracted. Instead she just stood there. She raised her hand up in the air and made some flicking motions as a black spell circle appeared. The circle took the blast and Mark pulled down on the mouthpiece of his ring.

"Let's see you try this then!"

" **HYPER MAGNUM STRIKE!"**

He pulled on the trigger as a laser energy form of Chimera came out charging the black spell circle. Once it hit the circle lines of gold and black magical energy began shooting out at random directions. I got up off the ground as I began stumbling towards the cars next me. I figured that using them to hide me would help sneak past Sorcerer so I could get inside the shop. "I'll just stand up against the car and make my move towards the store. I can use the reflections on the shops mirrors to see what's going on in the fight. Sorcerer won't look over at the mirrors because it would distract her from Mark. But I should hurry up before she notices I'm missing." I thought.

I began picking up the pace as I got close enough I heard Chimera's cry as it exploded. The blast sent a wave of energy zooming all over the street and the car I was behind got sent flying pushing me up against a building. Luckily for me, the car didn't squish me as I had about a few feet of moving room due to the front end hitting the side of a building. I saw Mark using his tassels to swing whip at Sorcerer but every attack he did, the black spell circle absorbed and it got bigger between each hit.

The black spell circle then turned into a giant black saber that rose up into the air. Mark took this time to charge at Sorcerer. "MARK WAIT! DON'T RUN!" I yelled out giving away my position.

The sword hit the ground in front of Mark and quickly formed into a sphere trapping him inside. Sorcerer raised her hands up into the air as the ball moved with the motions of her fingers. Gold sparks of electricity formed around the outside of the sphere and I could hear Mark screaming in pain. "MARRRRKKKK!" I yelled out as Sorcerer clenched her fist. The black ball slammed back into the ground as it exploded causing a huge amount of destruction into the city. I ducked behind the car but was too slow as the concussive force of the attack sent me flying through the cracked glass of the store I was standing in front of. The store was a bar and restaurant and when I was sent flying through the store my body hit up against one of the tables that had gotten flow backwards into the shop. I struggled to get back up but the blast had really done a number on me. I had cuts all over my body from the glass, bruises forming on my arms and my back was extremely sore from slamming into the table.

I heard creaking from the front of the store as a portion of the store began getting ripped from the structure of the building. Sorcerer had ripped out about three feet of the entrance and threw it to the side like it was nothing. She then raised her hand up at me as my body began to levitate in the air. I began floating towards her as I saw Mark unconscious and covered in blood and pieces of his ripped clothes. "I swear to God if he's dead—"

"Oh what are you going to do? You have barely any mana and you're only savior is lying on his face out on the street out cold. Tell me Travis what exactly are you going to do?" She asked. She then threw me out onto the road next to Mark. "You serve no purpose to me anymore. I'm going to kill you and end your life Travis Edge. At least you get to lose your life along with your best friend. You'll then be revived as a Phantom when I perform the Ritual and everything you've done up to this point will be meaningless." She said as a black ball of fire formed in her hand. I quickly grabbed the Please Ring and went to slide it on Mark's finger and when I did I heard the spell get fired at me. I closed my eyes ready to accept my defeat and I felt the burst of the spell but I wasn't hit by the attack.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Karina standing in front of me with her hands stretched out. The spell was shot into the ground a few feet in front of her. "Karina…?" I asked surprised.

"I told you to wait for me in my cave. What are you doing here?" Sorcerer asked.

"You're not going to hurt my bro anymore." She said standing in front of me.

She then collapsed to the ground as her body began shaking in pain.

"It's finally time to take the mana out of you already? Must've been Mark's mana that sped up the process." She said looking down at the ground.

"Karina you need to get out of here, you can't fight her." I said.

"I'm not leaving you bro. If she takes you out she's taking me as well." She said as she began coughing. Karina had really pale brown skin and pieces of her body had jewels encrusted.

"Bro I'm turning into a magical stone. I'm not going to be around anymore. In a few seconds you're going to go through something terrible, but I need you to fight back the pain. I've seen the future Travis you just need to trust me and fight back what's going to happen." She said to me.

"What are you saying to me Karina?!" I asked getting scared of her response.

"It's always been me. Since I've walked into your life it's been me. Travis you haven't seen it yet but I'm your hope. I'm what keeps you from despairing into a Phantom and now I'm dying. I'm begging you as my final wish please don't give into despair. Fight it." She said as she wrapped her arms around me.

"No…Don't leave…" I said as my heart became heavy.

I felt Karina move away from me as she got flung to the side from Sorcerer. Sorcerer then stood in front of me as a halberd formed in her hand. She raised the weapon above her shoulder with the bottom of it that had a tiny blade on it. "Finale Masked Rider Wizard. The brightest hope has finally succumbed to the darkest despair." She said as she thrusted her weapon to my face. Karina got in front of me as she took the blow that went right through her chest. No blood came out but pieces of the magical stone in her body hit my face. My eyes widened as her body immediately began glowing.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…." I said over and over again.

Karina tilted her head over her shoulder looking at me, "Survive this Travis." She said as her body began glowing brightly. Her entire body began to vanish as pieces of her body began turning into little balls of pink light. Sorcerer ripped his weapon out of her as she reached out and grabbed a piece of clothing on her killer.

"You know that you're death will give rise to the Ring needed to cast everyone into Phantoms. Even if Travis used it he has no mana to activate the Ring. So why make a futile attempt at saving him?" Sorcerer asked.

"Because I love him…He's…Always…Been…My Ho-" Karina's body had fully dispersed into nothing but the balls of light that hovered in front of Sorcerer. Sorcerer reached her hands out as the balls of light formed together and became a ring that looked like an Engage Ring but with a pink stone inside.

"A pink magical stone? What a pure soul she had." Sorcerer said.

I felt my heart stop beating as memory I had of Karina flew through my mind. I watched each memory as if it was a photo that ripped apart. I watched as the world once again became black and white and everything around me became inaudible. "No not this again. I don't want to feel this again. I don't want to experience this again…" I said to myself as I hurled over and looked at my two hands placed on to the ground. "She's gone…The one who helped me break out of my shell…She's gone…" I said as in an instant half my body exploded with purple cracks.

"What an interesting development. Karina was your hope. Maybe I won't have to personally kill you; I'll just let Dragon emerge out of you." Sorcerer said to me. I tried to raise my head but I couldn't do it anymore.

"Everything is being ripped away from me again…I hate this feeling…" I said as the cracks began to form around my body. I heard a voice inside my head.

"Yes! Let me out! Let me rampage out of my centuries of imprisonment!" The voice was Dragon who was crashing around in my Underworld.

"Give into your Phantom, Travis. Give into your despair. This pain you're feeling will be over if you just give in. Think about this, you'll never have to feel this pain ever again. You can finally move on somewhere that isn't here anymore. All you have to do is let Dragon out. Every single pain and misery you've been suffering will end in just seconds. Wouldn't you want to finally be free from all the pain?" Sorcerer said to me.

I wanted the pain to stop; I wanted all of this to end but the more I tried to fight back and stand back up, my mind would replay Karina's death. "I…Can't stop her…I can't save anyone anymore…I'm useless…Maybe I always have been…I've only been delaying the inevitable…" My body finally stopped listening to me as I began to close my eyes. I faded into the darkness of my mind where Dragon appeared.

"It's time I finally break free. All I have to do is strike you down here and now and I'm finally free." He said to me. Dragon began to breathe fire at me and I closed my eyes.

"Leave him alone!" A familiar voice called out.

In a split second a magical barrier was made in front of me blocking the fire. I couldn't tell who the person who saved me was and with the brightness of the flame I had to shield my eyes. In a flash I was casted back to reality where I saw a bunch of spirits standing in front of me and around me. They formed a circle around not just me but Mark as well. There were three people standing in front of me that I knew. One of the people turned around as she bent down to me.

"….Karina…?" I said.

She placed her hands on my shoulders. "It's time to get back up and fight bro." She said to me.

"I want to, but I have no mana left." I said to her.

"What are all of you doing here?! " Sorcerer was pissed.

"What you have done to my son ends here Sorcerer." Dad said.

"You're not going to hurt my baby boy anymore." Mom said.

I looked around at everyone and I saw a woman standing over Mark's body as she had his head rested next to her legs. "This is not where your story ends Mark." She said stroking the sides of his face.

"Who are all these people?" I said as I looked at everybody.

"Everyone here has been victims of Sorcerer and the Phantoms since her awakening. We are all here to help you end the nightmare she has put all of us in." Karina said to me.

"You're the one who will bring all of us hope right?" The woman by Mark asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"You can't do that groveling on the ground like that. Our lives have been ruined by the Phantoms, but the people alive don't have to go through what we did. So get up and fight." She said to me.

"Bro, every single one of us here are going to help you. But we need to know if you're going to give into despair, or stand up one more time." She said holding her hand out to me.

"Let's make it happen." I said as I reached out and grabbed her hand.

In the seconds of doing that almost every single spirit became tiny balls of brilliant light. The balls formed together into one the size of my fist. Karina and the woman stood in front of me. "We aren't the only ones who'll give you power. Listen to the few that you have brought hope too." The woman said.

" _Because of you I was able to move on to be a better parent. You gave me the hope to keep living for my daughter. I couldn't have done it without you being there. I don't know what's going on or why I'm saying this, but I hope you hear this and keep living."_ Selina said as a red ball of light appeared in front of me. The ball went inside the bigger one.

" _Because of you saving me, I can continue my family's tradition of putting on the best Christmas light show for the city to see and enjoy. I don't know who you are kid or why I'm praying you'll get this, but don't ever stop bringing hope to the world. We could use more of it."_ An orange ball of light appeared as I knew that had to be the voice of the man I saved at Wintergarden Park.

" _Travis, you need to get back up. All of us have come to help fight the Phantoms. You saved me and my mother at that barn. If you weren't there I wouldn't have the reason I kept working as a police officer. You're probably going through a hard time right now and I hope you can hear these words. Get back up and fight. All of us are waiting for you and Mark to come home."_ Robin said as a yellow ball of light appeared.

" _I never had any friends and you knew that. People didn't want to be around because I believed that magic was real. I was a social outcast and at one point thought that life wasn't worth living. But then you saved me from Hellhound and despite how awkward I acted and treated you, you stayed by my side. You gave my life not only a purpose to keep moving forward, but friends that I can consider family. You even helped me kill Zombie and avenge my mother. Don't let this problem you may be in get you down, everything you've done up to this point has been getting you ready."_ Shawn said as a green ball of light appeared with the others.

I saw the spirit of the Mages appear in front of me as Manuela bent down and placed her hand on one shoulder and DJ on the other.

" _Travis, you helped me so much dealing with the death of my sister. You fought for the both of us when you could've walked away. When it came to saving one of us you made a very tough decision and over time showed me how precious life was. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. Get back up and fight."_ Manuela said to me.

" _I may have done things that were wrong in my life. But adopting you as my child and seeing you grow has been the best thing. I want you to bring hope to everyone in the world. All of us are here to help stop Sorcerer and I'm pretty sure Makoto would like to finally rest in peace. Get up you still have work to do…Son."_

Everyone vanished into this ball of light as well as the other colors leaving Karina to stand by herself.

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." I said to myself.

I began slowly standing up as Sorcerer stared at me, "This isn't possible. I broke you." She said to me.

The purple cracks on my body began to fade as Dragon screamed in defeat inside my head. Karina stood in front of me as she placed her hands on the ball of the light that had gotten bigger.

"When I disappear reach inside this ball of light. You'll get all of your mana back as well as power to stop Sorcerer." She said.

I nodded in agreement as I watched her spirit vanish into the light. I quickly reached for the light as the rest of my cracks immediately vanished. The light wrapped itself around my body lighting me up like a Christmas tree in a dark room. I closed my eyes as I felt all of the pain in my body go away as if I was being healed. My mana was coming back to me so fast and I slowly opened my eyes to see the light fading. I looked at Sorcerer as I pulled my hand back to my chest and opened it up to reveal a new ring.

"A spell ring?" I said curious.

"As if I'll let you use it!" Sorcerer said as she charged at me swinging her weapon. She did a side slash as I leapt over it sideways and used one hand to grab the middle of it. I tugged the weapon back and lifted it into the air as I kicked her in the ribs as hard as I could. She would've stumbled back if I didn't tug her weapon to cause her to come towards me. When she got close I got behind her arm and used my palm to strike at her arm that I had extended out. You could hear a small snap before I shoved the arm away from me. She quickly turned around to face me in time for me to do a roundhouse kick across her jaw. Once I landed I open palm strike her in the chest causing her to stumble away from me.

"You don't get to have a say in the matter." I said as I scanned a ring over my belt.

" **Driver On, please."**

I raised my Infinity Ring as I got ready to end all of this.

"Trans…" I stopped as I looked at Mark and thought about my friend's words that gave me strength to get back up again. "No. I think it's time to say something a bit different." I said as I knocked the side of my belt.

"HENSHIN!"

" **INFINITY! PLEASE!** **Fire-Water-Wind-Earth! Burn-Bubble-Blow-Rumble!"**

The silver dragon began flying in circles around me as I gave a fierce look at Sorcerer. I made a fist with my transformation hand stuck out towards Sorcerer. The spell circle began moving up my body as we both had a staring contest. Once the spell circle hit my waist the dragon came crashing down on me revealing my final form. In my outstretched hand was Axecalibur and in my other hand was my swordgun.

"I am the one who will turn despair into hope. I am the world's final hope." I said.

Sorcerer became enshrouded in a black mist as she vanished. I tapped into my super speed vanishing as well faster than people could see. Random buildings started exploded from our attacks as we swung our weapons at each other. I got Sorcerer slammed into the wall above a hair salon as I jumped off a building across the street ready to impale her. She put up a black spell circle that kept me from hitting her but I raised my axe and chopped right through it. Sorcerer put up her pole part of her weapon and blocked my attack from hitting her in the chest. She raised her foot and kicked me in the stomach sending me to the ground below. I landed on my feet as she stretched out her hand and black chains wrapped around my arms and legs keeping me still. She flew into the air and came down with her blade ready to sever me in half but I put up my barrier that she couldn't break through and I pulled on the chains hard enough that they broke apart. I then took my sword and slashed across her chest. I then did an upper slash with my weapon as I tossed it up into the air and high fived the small black hand on my Axecalibur.

" **High Touch! Shining Plasma Strike! Sparkling! Sparkling! Sparkling!"**

Sorcerer finally recovered from the slashes in time to see me twirl around as the sword part of my weapon became encased in diamonds and a radiant light. I did a parry of slashes all over her body in rapid speed before I switched my hands on the weapon from sword to axe mode. All of the brilliant light formed around the red blade of my axe as I slashed across her stomach that sent her flying through the Qdoba building she was standing in front of. She struggled a bit to get back up.

Her hand outstretched as a black sphere formed around me and I got caught in her spell that defeated Mark. "That was a good combo you did Wizard, but this spell will end you just like it did your friend." She said to me.

I quickly scanned a ring as the sphere engulfed me in darkness.

" **Teleport, please."**

I teleported right behind Sorcerer as I whispered near her ear, "Oh I highly doubt that." I said as I scanned another ring.

" **Explosion, please."**

I put my hand on her back as a silver spell circle appeared on her back that gave off an explosion that sent her flying towards her attack that was already going off and she flew right into it. She screamed in pain as she cancelled her spell and had fallen to the ground.

"This is impossible…" She said pissed at the tables being turned.

I walked out of the hole in the building as she stood up and began having a massive amount of mana forming around her right foot. She had hunched over putting all of her weight on that one foot as a black spell circle appeared around her on the ground.

"My final spell that will decide this once and for all!" She said seething in rage.

Black mana mixed with flames began forming around her feet. "So she wants to finish this now huh?" I said as I took out my new ring and slid it on. "I put everything in this last spell." I said as I inhaled.

The ring I pulled out was all gold with a dragon etched into it as well as different jewels that made out its wings and eyes. There was a chunk of a crystal like a ball at the bottom of the ring.

" **Lupacchi Magic Touch to Transform"**

" **Fabulous! Finish Strike! The Best!"**

My spell circle appeared around my feet as Dragon erupted out of me. He circled around me and slammed into my back revealing All-Dragon, but instead of the colors he was normally in, it was covered in the diamonds of my Infinity Style. Bright silver light formed around me as I stepped off the ground using the wings on my back as I came soaring towards Sorcerer. Sorcerer hopped off the ground and came soaring towards me going through these gold diagrams. Both of our feet's kicked into each other as our powers began to clash viciously with each other. Mana began shooting out in random directions destroying everything it touched. I started noticing that Sorcerer was starting to get the advantage.

"Finale." I said as Sorcerer caught that.

I twisted my body in a circle as I began spinning rapidly. My spinning began to give me more power in our powers fighting each other. I ended up twisting Sorcerer's foot and in just a blink of an eye I had kicked right into her belt and then all of my body became transparent as I flew through her entire body and coming out on the other side as I landed on the ground with my tail thrashing about. I heard Sorcerer scream in agony as I stood up and reverted myself back to my human form.

"It's finally over." I said with my back turned. I looked over my shoulder to see spikes of diamonds erupt out of her Rider Form and an explosion was made as she was reverted back to her human form. She fell to the ground like a rag doll covered in blood and her clothes ripped. The ring that was made from Karina's body flew towards my feet as I bent down and picked it up. I looked up at Sorcerer as her belt destroyed beyond repair laid next to her. She looked up at me as she reached for her rings in front of her. I walked over and stomped on them destroying the rings.

"How is this possible…? I was so close…" She said distraught.

"I had friends and people who believed in me. You had no one. You had followers but no one who would give a damn to lift a finger to help you in this fight like I did. I got that by helping people and saving others." I said to her.

"Just because you defeated me doesn't mean that there will be other Phantoms who will see you and this world into Phantoms." She said to me.

"I guess I'll just have to find them and stop them which is something I was planning on doing. This world can't be safe if Phantoms exist." I said staring at her groveling on the ground.

"It was a mistake killing me Silver Eye Magician as well as your crusade to kill the other Phantoms. Once all Marked Phantoms are destroyed a greater evil will be born. The one who originally created the Phantoms: My master…" She said with her hand outstretched to me. I watched as her body began turning to stone and then crumbled into dust. I watched as the wind blew through the streets carrying the dust away.

"If that happens I'll be there to take care of it." I said as I turned around to walk away. When I did I saw the spirit of Makoto Fueki standing in front of me. I quickly took a fighting stance.

"Stop, Travis it's okay. It's me Makoto." She said to me. She gave off a completely different vibe than what I was used too.

"You're…DJ's friend." I said to her.

"Yes. I don't have much longer so I need to be quick. Tell DJ when you go back to him that I am sorry for all of the pain he's gone through because of me. Also please tell him that his lover will watch over him. We are so proud of him." She said as she waved goodbye and faded away.

I had a smile on my face as I took a deep breath feeling a huge weight off my shoulders. I walked over to help Mark up off the ground and had him leaning up on my shoulder. He began to wake up a bit.

"Ugh…What I miss?" He said.

"Come on Mark, we're going home to our friends." I said to him with a smile on my face.

"Oh. We're going home? Does that mean we won?" He said chuckling.

"Are you always like this when you're ruffed up?" I asked.

"Heh heh wouldn't you like to know buddy?!" He said laughing.

I then stopped walking, "Oh what the heck am I doing? I have a quicker way of getting home." I said as I scanned my new ring.

" **Teleport, please."**

A bright light appeared as we vanished and reappeared at DJ's house. Robin and Shawn quickly ran outside to meet us excited to see us back in one piece.

"GUYS! We're so happy your home! Get this! DJ, Manuela, and Maria all woke up!" Shawn said hugging the both of us.

"Ouch! Hey Shawn buddy? Let go of me I did get my butt whupped." Mark said.

Shawn let go immediately as he apologized. "Here I'll get Mark inside, I think there is someone who wants to see you." Shawn said to me. I quickly handed Mark to Shawn as I bolted into the house. I got into the hallway to see Manuela just walking out of the bedroom where we had put DJ and Maria in.

"Sis stay right here I'll get us something to eat and drink." She said as she closed the door. I ran down the hall and threw my arms around her as a bundle of joy and happiness filled my heart.

"Manuela…I'm so happy you're back." I said as a tear ran down my face.

"Oh hey babe, you gave me a bit of a fright." She said as she wrapped her arms around me tightly. "I've missed you so much." She said.

We broke out of our hug as I placed my hands on the sides of her face and kissed her. I then kissed her forehead, "I thought I was going to lose you. I'm so glad you're back." I said rubbing her head.

"Okay so I'm flattered you're giving me long needed affection and stuff. But you really smell and look like crap. How about you go get a shower and meet all of us downstairs for dinner. Robin and I are making lasagna." She said smiling.

"Yeah you're right I didn't think about that. I'll go get changed and cleaned up." I said. I left to go to my room and grab a quick shower. I had put on new clothes and headed down to the living room where Robin, DJ, Manuela, Maria, Rachel, Mark, and Shawn were all in the living room with a giant dish of lasagna just getting cut into squares. Everyone had plates in front of them as Maria began serving all of us.

"Sis you don't have to move around so much you need to relax and recover." Manuela said to her.

"I've been resting for a long time now. Plus this is our official reunion on top of Travis freeing us and saving the world. So be quiet lil sis and enjoy the lasagna." She said.

Shawn looked around the room, "Hey I don't think none of us noticed before but where is Karina? Is she going to be joining us?" Everyone began looking around for her except DJ, Maria, and Manuela who stopped what they were doing and looked down at their food.

"Karina is no longer with us." I said lowly.

You could feel the emotion of happiness in the room die immediately.

"Wait…What?" Robin said.

"You've got to be joking Travis. She's not dead…She can't be…" Shawn said. He pulled out a small friendship bracelet with Karina's name on it. "I made this for her and for everyone." He said as he began to cry.

"I can't believe she's gone. She was like family to me. She was like a sister…" Mark said as he clenched his fist with tears running down his face.

Manuela saw how much this affected me as she walked towards me and placed her hands in mine, "Travis it's going to be okay. She wanted you to live and remember her for all the good she has done. She loved you very much." She said to me as she gave me a hug. I was doing my best to try and not remember her because I didn't want my time with my friends to become a depressing one. Obviously that didn't work. I began to cry like everyone else in the room as the memories of all my good times with her began flooding my brain.

One by one each of my friends came up and hugged me as we all began remembering the fun times we had with her. We then sat down and before we began eating our food I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring Karina had turned into as I placed it on the table.

"Karina protected me and when she gave up her life, she became this ring. I don't know what it does it looks like an Engage Ring. But it's pink. I was thinking of leaving it by her crystal ball since she liked being over there instead of in the Wizard Chest." I said.

Everyone began to join hands as we said a prayer for Karina. Manuela sat next to me as she grabbed mine, "I think we should say a prayer for her. She gave something to all of us and it all began with her that we are all sitting here at this table right now. I think we should thank her for that don't you?" Manuela said.

"I think I'd like that very much." I said.

All of us closed our eyes as I started the prayer.

"I hope you get this prayer Karina. I want to thank you for pulling me out of my shell and giving me strength. I'm going to always miss you and do better at fighting off the Phantoms." I said.

"Karina, you were a bright young girl who put smiles on all of our faces. Even given your situation that you may not live one day, you never stopped smiling and never gave up on your friends. You were a great addition to this family and I'll never forget you." DJ said.

"Karina, you were an amazing person and a bundle of joy to be around. I still remember that time we try to make a house of cards and we kept failing. It was a lot of fun playing board games with you. I'll miss our competitions we had but I'll never forget how much you meant a lot to me." Mark said.

"It's hard to know you're gone. You and Travis were the first people to be my friends and through you I found others. I was so happy when you and I hung out a lot. I had made a bracelet for you to show how much I've appreciated your friendship. I hope wherever you are, you are happy." Shawn said.

"You kept Travis safe as much as you could until the very end. You did a lot for all of us and for that I'm happy and grateful. I'm going to be sad that I'll never see you again. But I'll always remember the amazing things you did for me and our friends." Manuela said.

"All of us are not in any way related to the other, but the trials we've been through on this adventure together has made me believe and see each other as a family. We were by each other's side, helped each other overcome our obstacles, and never lost sight of what we wanted for not only ourselves but our community. You may be gone physically but I know spiritually you will always be with us. Always watching over us as we continue to keep living." Robin said.

Maria and Rachel had said a silent prayer while holding a cross necklace in her hands.

We took this moment to be silent for a bit and then I wrapped up the prayer, "Heavenly Father please watch over Karina as she has gone through so much. We pray that where she's at she is happy and content. Please help give us strength to keep going with our lives and keep this family of ours together. Amen." I said.

"Amen." Everyone else said.

We began to eat as we started slowly going back to our lives. But not Mark, he went full back to his life as he reached behind the couch and pulled out a giant bottle of mayo.

"Where did you get that?" I asked him shocked.

He unscrew the lid as he stared at me and then the bottle, "A magician never reveals his secrets." He said as he flipped the bottle upside down pouring out the mayo onto his food.

"Oh geez Mark that's too much!" Robin said.

"You're absolutely right. Way too much for just me." He said as he poured some on Robin's plate.

"Ugh Mark!" Robin said as she quickly scooped up some of the mayo and smeared it on his face.

"Oh it's on Robin. You've declared mayo war!" Mark said as he grabbed some mayo and smeared it on her face.

"Hey let me in on this!" Manuela said. I quickly turned to her.

"You can't be serious-"

Manuela smeared mayo on my face. I wiped some off as I rubbed it across her forehead.

"Hey Mark pass that bottle would ya?" Shawn said as he scooped out a ball of mayo and went towards DJ with it. DJ quickly grabbed his wrist

"You didn't think I wouldn't see this coming?" He said. He then began tickling Shawn's side as he began laughing. He then pushed his hand to his face and let go of it as he began wiping mayo all over him. "Ah yes my masterpiece is complete." DJ said as he wrote the words boy on Shawn's forehead.

We all began covering each other's faces with mayo in a big battle of laughs and enjoyment. It felt like it had been a long time since we could all goof off so carelessly like this. It was fun and a great way to enjoy the rest of our day.

We had finally finished eating and had noticed that Maria hadn't joined in on the mayo battle. We had all gone to wash our faces and when we came back to eat our food Robin's lasagna was gone and so most of the lasagna in the big pan as well. Maria had smashed on a lot of the food and left a piece behind.

"Sis! Did you just eat all of the food?" Manuela asked.

"What I was hungry? Plus the more I eat the more mana I seem to replenish." She said with a smile on her face.

I looked at Manuela, "Your sister can really eat." I said to her.

"Yeah I also think she has a black hole for a stomach. She can eat a lot and it doesn't show at all." Manuela sighed.

Mark came back into the room and as he sat down he noticed all of his mayo was gone, "Hey where did all my mayo g-" He then looked at Maria next to him.

"Damn mayo does go well on everything. Oh I thought that was up for everyone. I'm sorry I'll get some more to replace yours." She said.

Mark's eyes widened as if he was in love and then looked at DJ and I, "Hey can we keep her? I think I'm in love." He said with this huge amount of happiness on his face.

"Mark! That's my sister! She's 19 years old and your like what 16?" Manuela said defensively.

"17 actually. Remember I'm a year old than Travis." Mark replied.

"That's not the point and she's still my sister!" Manuela said.

"I don't have a problem with her staying. Do you have anywhere to live outside of here Maria?" DJ asked.

"Not really. I've been staying with friends mostly. If I stay I'll get a job and help out around here." She said.

"I wouldn't mind having another Masked Rider in the house." I said.

"This town has like a Justice League group of heroes doesn't it?" Shawn said.

"Pfft we are more like the Avengers." Mark said.

"Nah definitely Justice League." Shawn said.

Mark and Shawn began having a nerd fight over who was better. We never reached that conclusion but for the rest of the evening we had fun enjoying our victory and having three new Masked Riders join our team. I had big hopes for the future that we would one day get rid of all of the Phantoms that still existed in the world. But the thoughts of the Marked Phantoms and the threat that might come still lingered in the back of my mind.

* * *

Thanks for reading up to this point. I'm still planning on doing more Wizard books and every book I write from here on out will be in third person rather than first like I have been doing for Wizard. I originally wanted to do book 3 in third person but felt like it would cause problems for readers. I've struggled trying to get through this book due to issues that I know the story as a whole has but didn't feel like scrapping and starting over after working on this for 4 years. There is a thought of restarting Masked Rider Wizard and fixing alot of mistakes I have made from books 1-3 but I have a bunch of other stories I want to work on and that I'm interested in and am planning on doing my best to not mess up those like I did writing Wizard.

The only reason I kept going with Wizard despite low views, and issues with the story is because Kamen Rider Wizard is the Rider series I'm personally favorited towards. It's my Rider series and I love it a lot. My other story Power Rangers Dinothunder has been doing a lot better than Wizard and is almost at 3,000 views with more followers and favorites. You guys should check that out. I have plans for a sequel to Dinothunder by doing Mighty Morphin and a crossover book with Wizard when DT is finished. I also have plans on doing a Masked Rider Double story set in an alternate universe of Wizard, and a Masked Rider Decade story also set in a different universe.

I'm currently working out a crossover of all of my stories but do not have enough detail or thought on how I'm going about it. So it may or may not happen. But thanks for reading and I hope and pray I'll do better on my stories in the future going forward!


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